<![CDATA[ Latest from PC Gamer AU in Gaming-pcs ]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/au/hardware/gaming-pcs Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:18:18 +0000 en <![CDATA[ Redditor's mother-in-law finds missing Steam Deck on train, returns it to its rightful owner in a soap box nine months later ]]> A redditor's mother-in-law found a Steam Deck OLED on an Amtrak train—and ever since, the redditor has been trying to send it back to its rightful owner. Now it's finally on its way home.

Apparently, the redditor's mother-in-law found the device several months prior, but "she had no idea what to do with it or how to even turn it on. She just came to visit and handed it over to me this weekend."

The user, vgalz, originally tried looking on the Steam, Steam Deck, and Amtrak subreddits to find the owner. Having no luck, they then reached out to Steam Support representatives, who said they couldn't connect the finder with the owner but did recommend reporting the missing Deck to local law enforcement.

Vgalz also tried to befriend the owner on Steam, tried to log into their account to get their name, and commented on a Redditor's post who they believed owned the Deck, all to no avail.

It turns out that the original owner posted about their missing device on the Steam Deck subreddit, but it was missed because they made the post nine months ago.

FINAL UPDATE: The Steam Deck that was lost on a train is on its way home!
 from r/SteamDeck

And so, with the user found (and with the owner of the device verified), the redditor sent it back home in a hand soap box.

Vgalz says, "It took a little bit of effort but it feels amazingly good to have helped get this baby home"

They continue, "And to everyone reading.. if you get the opportunity to do a good deed for someone, please do. If everyone does the selfish thing every time, then the world just sucks. Everyone has the ability to be better than that. And it feels really good to do it."

In between the device being lost and being found again, the Steam Deck has seen a significant price increase, with the 512 GB OLED model going from $549 to $789 and the 1 TB OLED model going from $649 to $949. That had to have made the loss sting even harder, but, it's always nice to see a happy ending.

And even Vgalz benefited from the situation, as a separate redditor gifted them a game as a reward for their kindness. Everyone involved, give yourselves a pat on the back.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/redditors-mother-in-law-finds-missing-steam-deck-on-train-returns-it-to-its-rightful-owner-in-a-soap-box-nine-months-later/ 5xiyrVmtRrQBVd4rK6satV Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:18:18 +0000 false false false

A redditor's mother-in-law found a Steam Deck OLED on an Amtrak train—and ever since, the redditor has been trying to send it back to its rightful owner. Now it's finally on its way home.

Apparently, the redditor's mother-in-law found the device several months prior, but "she had no idea what to do with it or how to even turn it on. She just came to visit and handed it over to me this weekend."

The user, vgalz, originally tried looking on the Steam, Steam Deck, and Amtrak subreddits to find the owner. Having no luck, they then reached out to Steam Support representatives, who said they couldn't connect the finder with the owner but did recommend reporting the missing Deck to local law enforcement.

Vgalz also tried to befriend the owner on Steam, tried to log into their account to get their name, and commented on a Redditor's post who they believed owned the Deck, all to no avail.

It turns out that the original owner posted about their missing device on the Steam Deck subreddit, but it was missed because they made the post nine months ago.

FINAL UPDATE: The Steam Deck that was lost on a train is on its way home!
 from r/SteamDeck

And so, with the user found (and with the owner of the device verified), the redditor sent it back home in a hand soap box.

Vgalz says, "It took a little bit of effort but it feels amazingly good to have helped get this baby home"

They continue, "And to everyone reading.. if you get the opportunity to do a good deed for someone, please do. If everyone does the selfish thing every time, then the world just sucks. Everyone has the ability to be better than that. And it feels really good to do it."

In between the device being lost and being found again, the Steam Deck has seen a significant price increase, with the 512 GB OLED model going from $549 to $789 and the 1 TB OLED model going from $649 to $949. That had to have made the loss sting even harder, but, it's always nice to see a happy ending.

And even Vgalz benefited from the situation, as a separate redditor gifted them a game as a reward for their kindness. Everyone involved, give yourselves a pat on the back.

]]> <![CDATA[ Asus ProArt P16 (H7607) RTX Spark laptop review ]]>

If you don't talk to me about the price, I will tell you the Asus ProArt P16 is an unbelievably good gaming laptop. It is beautifully slim, runs incredibly well gaming on battery, and has an absolutely stunning 16-inch OLED screen. And its Arm-based SoC is almost entirely transparent when it comes to running pretty much anything on Windows 11.

But this is no mere Snapdragon device, this the RTX Spark; Nvidia's first foray into the world of full Windows SoCs. It's pairing a relatively beefy RTX Blackwell GPU with a whole bunch of Arm CPU cores, and doing so with lots and lots and lots of LPDDR5X memory. Y'know, for AI.

Which, er, is why you might not want to ask about that price. Memory's expensive, and these RTX Spark laptops—of which the Asus ProArt P16 is, in my opinion, the most desirable—are likewise brutally priced. I have the 64 GB version, with the top Nvidia N1X SoC inside it, and it will set you back $4,400.

It is that price both for AI and because of AI, and is being sold as the 'One PC' that can do everything. It can game, it can run creative apps, and it can slam through local AI workloads like no other laptop before. But where you're probably expecting me to trot out the old 'jack of all trades, master of none' line here, that's not really the case. There are tradeoffs, sure, but it's really, really good at the lot. And did I mention it was pretty?

The real question here, however, is whether a PC gamer ought to be considering this machine for their next laptop. And if it's just to play games on, this would not be my first choice, however good a device I think it is. The performance, for an Arm-powered laptop, is impressive in terms of the experience, but not faultless. While Microsoft is working hard on Prism and opening up support for every anti-cheat software going, it is not complete. And checking against my back-of-the-napkin list of the 15 biggest PC games around right now you're looking at around half of them not being playable. Yet.

Buy if...

✅ You're a creator or local AI head who games on the side: If you're after an almost workstation style thin and light machine, but also want to play after dark, the ProArt P16 will cover all bases

Don't buy if...

❌ You just want a gaming laptop: There are other thin and light gaming machines that will cost a fraction of what this does, but perform as well in-game.

❌ You have to ask the price: These are machines for the very well-off PC user.

Asus ProArt P16 - Features

CPU

Nvidia RTX Spark N1X

Cores

20 total
(10 Arm Cortex-X925 + 10 Arm Cortex-A725)

GPU

Nvidia Blackwell RTX

Cores

6144 CUDA cores

Memory

64 GB LPDDR5X RAM

Storage

1 TB NVMe M.2 SSD

Screen

16-inch 3K OLED 100% DCI-P3 120 Hz Touchscreen

OS

Microsoft Windows 11 Home 64-bit

Colour

Nano Black

Warranty

ASUS 12 Month Collect & Return Warranty

Price

£3,900 | $4,400

There are many like it, but this one is mine: The 20-core N1X chip, with 10 performance and 10 efficient cores, and the 6144 CUDA core GPU component. This version also comes with a 1 TB SSD (for a $4,400 spec? 😬 I know) and 64 GB of LPDDR5X-9400 memory.

This version of the ProArt P16 is rocking the 16-inch 2880 x 1800 touchscreen OLED display, while there is also a 3840 x 2400 OLED screen available (both 120 Hz) if you go for one of the even pricier models. That one's a touch brighter, but this 1800p OLED will still output at 500 nits, with a 1100 nit peak HDR output, so it's no slouch.

The paucity of storage is a definite disappointment for something at this price—look lower down the stack and you'll still be paying $2800 for the 24 GB version with just a 512 GB SSD. And I honestly do not see the point in that one except for all concerned to be able to say RTX Spark laptops "start from $2800". There is, however, a spare PCIe Gen5 SSD slot in the rear of the machine, which is easily accessible once you remove lots of torx screws.

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future
Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future

The keyboard would be a genuinely lovely thing for this device if I wasn't regularly getting additional keystrokes I did not ask for. I've had to keep deleting the extra spaces this thing keeps adding into my copy. There. I just had to kill another one. It's annoying.

What isn't annoying at all, though, is the glorious, massive haptic touchpad Asus has jammed onto this thing. It quite literally takes up half the width of the device. It's great to the touch, and impressively responsive as your digits glide across its surface. Mmm. Smooth.

It's meant to have a webcam, too, but I cannot for the life of me find out how to turn the damned thing on. I'm assuming that somewhere in there a ribbon cable has become ejected because the device sees nothing. This is what I mean by some quality control issues...

Asus ProArt P16 - Value

Haha. Hahahahahaha. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

C'mon. This is the mid-range ProArt P16 for $4,400. Any sense of value left the station a loooooooong time ago.

Asus ProArt P16 - Sound

Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark

(Image credit: Future)

This is a very pleasant surprise. The up-firing speakers set either side of the ProArt P16's keyboard are really, really good. Obviously that's still really, really good for laptop speakers, and they're are never going to replace your bookshelf speakers, but for clarity and, yes, even bass they do incredibly well.

And they're loud enough that they can largely overcome the sound coming out of the vents on the ProArt P16 when it's running in full performance mode. It does get rather chatty when the silicon is running at full throttle, and when you're talking about a system that's going to max out its GPU component when running both games and local large language models, that's probably going to happen quite a lot.

The pleasing thing, however, is that knocking things down to the Balanced preset in the ProArt Creator Hub (essentially a reskinned Armoury Crate) means that your performance only drops by a few percentage points but the fan noise drops by a whole hell of a lot. It's not silent—you have to dip into Whisper mode for that—but this is the preset you're going to want to spend most of your time running in.

Asus ProArt P16 - Performance

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

Somewhat inevitably, performance is a mixed bag of chips when it comes to the RTX Spark. For one, this is a first-gen product from Nvidia, fusing essentially off-the-shelf Arm cores with its own GPU cores, so broad, mature support was never going to be 100% there from the get-go. For another we're talking about games especially that are being run through the Microsoft Prism emulation layer in order for them to run at all on the Asus ProArt P16.

But even taking all that into account I think the gaming performance of this device is pretty damned impressive. The general suggestion ahead of the launch was that the 6144 CUDA core version would deliver gaming performance at a similar level to the RTX 5070 mobile GPUs. It has more cores than the mobile silicon, but is running at a lower clock speed and with a lower power budget, too.

Take a look at the relative 1080p gaming performance of Cyberpunk 2077 and Metro Exodus Enhanced Ed. running on the RTX Spark versus the 100 W Framework 16 or 115 W Razer Blade 14 and you can see where it doesn't quite match up to the GPU performance of the more thirsty graphics parts.

1 / 3

1080p gaming performance

Testing the relative gaming performance of different laptops across multiple games.

Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
36
27
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
43
33
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
45
28
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark36 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W43 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W45 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

But when you look at the power draw at those levels it becomes far more impressive. At 1080p in Metro, the Asus laptop is drawing an average of 43 W during the run, while the Razer machine is sitting at 97 W. That's well over double the power, but only running 12% faster in terms of frame rate.

It's also worth noting that we're talking about a GPU that has access to much more memory—albeit with lower memory bandwidth—than the 8 GB GDDR7 that the RTX 5070 mobile can draw on.

There are also times where there is genuine performance parity, too. Running the Black Myth Wukong benchmark and you can see there's a level of parity with the higher power Blade's GPU, even at the same native resolution when you throw upscaling into the mix.

System performance

Measuring the relative performance of the different laptop chips in terms of power and thermals.

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
Avg GPU power (W)
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
1906
43
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
2421
77
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
2589
97
GPU stats Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark1906 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 43 Avg GPU power (W)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W2421 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 77 Avg GPU power (W)
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W2589 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 97 Avg GPU power (W)

Where there is a clear difference, however, is when it comes to games that are CPU-bound. Baldur's Gate 3 is one game we use as a benchmark specifically because it highlights the performance differences between processors—on the desktop side it's a test which shows the dominance of AMD's 3D V-Cache technology and on mobile you'll see where Intel's CPUs still have performance to offer gamers.

And Baldur's Gate 3 really struggles on the RTX Spark in relation to the other machines. There are two reasons for this; the first being that emulation has an impact on CPU performance rather than GPU performance, so CPU-bound games will suffer more than GPU-bound ones. And second, the CPU cores themselves aren't exactly leading-edge silicon when it comes to single-threaded gaming performance.

System performance

Measuring the relative performance of the different laptop chips in terms of power and thermals.

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
Avg GPU power (W)
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
1906
43
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
2421
77
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
2589
97
GPU stats Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark1906 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 43 Avg GPU power (W)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W2421 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 77 Avg GPU power (W)
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W2589 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 97 Avg GPU power (W)

This is also highlighted in the Cinebench 2024 benchmarks, which show that, while the multi-threaded performance is fine with 20 cores to spread across, the single-core performance is well behind the competition.

Asus ProArt P16 - Aesthetics

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

Golly, this is a pretty laptop. I know I very much have 'a type', but the ProArt P16 is absolutely nailing the sleek black MacBook aesthetic that works for me. There is a subtle 'ProArt' logo on the lid, just shiny black against the matte black brushed aluminium, and one more etched logo on the bottom left corner of the frame.

And it's also incredibly slim, too. I thought the Blade 14 and Asus Zephyrus G16 were slimline little things, but the ProArt chassis takes it even further. It's super slight, but the brushed aluminium frame makes it perfectly rigid, while remaining lightweight.

But because it's a 16-inch machine, and one without a numpad—which might be a cause for concern for some creatives—the keycaps on the board are wide, so it feels comfortable to type on. I'm also into the big ol' trackpad Asus has used, too, and that OLED panel really makes the whole thing shine.

There is one other thing that has surprised me about the looks of the ProArt P16. After just over a week of solid use there is but a small amount of finger-grease on the spacebar (just because I have to keep hitting the damned thing to try and stop it sticking), but other than that the chassis is remarkably lacking in fingerprints. Normally, this sort of machine is an absolute fingerprint magnet, to the point where you'll want to be carrying around a microfibre cloth in your back pocket just so people don't think you're gross when you whip the laptop out in public.

Instead they may just question your insatiable need to polish up your notebook.

Asus ProArt P16 - Software

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

The main piece of software to talk about is the OS. Now, this isn't Windows On Arm; that's been effectively retired. This is just plain ol' Windows 11, that just so happens to be running on Arm. And it's impressively transparent as I said earlier. It's slick and feels exactly like running Windows on any other x86 laptop I've used. The only places where you'll notice the difference is in games where they need another level of anti-cheat support the Arm platform doesn't yet offer.

The ProArt P16 does come with a lot of other software, too. You get the aforementioned ProArt Creator Hub, which allows you to alter the power/fan presets, and then there's the MyAsus software where you can register your device and run diagnostics if anything goes wrong. Though I will say it didn't help me track down what was wrong with the webcam because it didn't register its existence, either.

Then you get StoryCube, a piece of software designed to help collate and classify the media on your device using AI. And MuseTree, an app designed for ProArt machines to quickly get you producing AI-generated video and images using local models. You will have to download some extra files/models to actually get up and running, but then you'll be able to run the FLUX.2 model to make your AI dreams a reality.

It's totally offline, so you don't necessarily have to worry about draining reservoirs of water or slamming the energy reserves just to mess around generating a picture of a gaming PC made entirely out of potato, but whether it's really something creatives are going to want to incorporate into their workflows… I am unconvinced.

Given that storage space is at a premium with these RTX Spark machines, I could do without any extra applications installed on my PC, which means there is a bit of cleanup you're going to have to indulge in to claw back the space taken up with pre-installed stuff. But it is all at least relatively unobtrusive. I mean, there's no McAfee pop-ups determined to bug you every 20 minutes unless you sign your life away for some AV cover of dubious virtue.

Asus ProArt P16 - Battery life

Battery life

Testing gaming battery life using PCMark 10's dedicate gaming battery life test.

PCMark 10

Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
86
Framework 16
131
Razer Blade 14 (2025)
134
037.575112.5150
Battery life (minutes)
PCMark 10 Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark86
Framework 16131
Razer Blade 14 (2025)134

I'll be honest, this is one of the real disappointments with the RTX Spark as a laptop platform. The battery life is really not great. With a 99.9 Whr battery inside it, and a relatively power-sipping, efficient platform, I was expecting the battery life to be a lot better than it actually turns out to be.

My expectation was that with an energy efficient Arm SoC I would be happily slapping the lid shut on the ProArt P16 and then flipping it open again ten hours later and it would spring back into life with barely a scratch on the battery capacity. That was effectively my experience from running a Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge and its Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, and I was hoping to see it replicated.

But no dice. I'm seeing definite power drain when the system suspends, much in the same way as the x86 Ryzen chip in my Blade 14 does.

And then in use it chews through the battery surprisingly quickly, too. I used the PCMark 10 CLI to run the Gaming Battery Life test, which loops 3DMark FireStrike tests until the battery runs dry, and I only got a paltry 86 minutes out of it. That's less than an hour and a half, when the Blade 14 and Framework 16, both with RTX 5070 GPUs, will easily top 130 minutes each.

Now, that is an emulated test, so not quite perfectly set up for this platform, but it's not been inconsistent with my experience actually using this device unplugged. When running a local AI model on Hermes Agent, for example, I've regularly had to plug into a power source while it churns through a tough problem (or sometimes what I thought was a simple one) because running the memory and the GPU at 100% have drained the battery very quickly.

The same is true for gaming, which feels odd given that in Balanced Mode it's running at a total SoC wattage of just over 40 W, and that shouldn't slam through the battery as quickly as it seems to. You can run in Whisper Mode, which cuts the power draw down by a healthy amount again, but then you are running at well under 1000 MHz on the GPU side and it does make gaming a little tougher on the eye.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/asus-proart-p16-rtx-spark-review/ HS2rJCTo8iT9ZZpuDJPuYA Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:08:45 +0000 false false false

If you don't talk to me about the price, I will tell you the Asus ProArt P16 is an unbelievably good gaming laptop. It is beautifully slim, runs incredibly well gaming on battery, and has an absolutely stunning 16-inch OLED screen. And its Arm-based SoC is almost entirely transparent when it comes to running pretty much anything on Windows 11.

But this is no mere Snapdragon device, this the RTX Spark; Nvidia's first foray into the world of full Windows SoCs. It's pairing a relatively beefy RTX Blackwell GPU with a whole bunch of Arm CPU cores, and doing so with lots and lots and lots of LPDDR5X memory. Y'know, for AI.

Which, er, is why you might not want to ask about that price. Memory's expensive, and these RTX Spark laptops—of which the Asus ProArt P16 is, in my opinion, the most desirable—are likewise brutally priced. I have the 64 GB version, with the top Nvidia N1X SoC inside it, and it will set you back $4,400.

It is that price both for AI and because of AI, and is being sold as the 'One PC' that can do everything. It can game, it can run creative apps, and it can slam through local AI workloads like no other laptop before. But where you're probably expecting me to trot out the old 'jack of all trades, master of none' line here, that's not really the case. There are tradeoffs, sure, but it's really, really good at the lot. And did I mention it was pretty?

The real question here, however, is whether a PC gamer ought to be considering this machine for their next laptop. And if it's just to play games on, this would not be my first choice, however good a device I think it is. The performance, for an Arm-powered laptop, is impressive in terms of the experience, but not faultless. While Microsoft is working hard on Prism and opening up support for every anti-cheat software going, it is not complete. And checking against my back-of-the-napkin list of the 15 biggest PC games around right now you're looking at around half of them not being playable. Yet.

Buy if...

✅ You're a creator or local AI head who games on the side: If you're after an almost workstation style thin and light machine, but also want to play after dark, the ProArt P16 will cover all bases

Don't buy if...

❌ You just want a gaming laptop: There are other thin and light gaming machines that will cost a fraction of what this does, but perform as well in-game.

❌ You have to ask the price: These are machines for the very well-off PC user.

Asus ProArt P16 - Features

CPU

Nvidia RTX Spark N1X

Cores

20 total
(10 Arm Cortex-X925 + 10 Arm Cortex-A725)

GPU

Nvidia Blackwell RTX

Cores

6144 CUDA cores

Memory

64 GB LPDDR5X RAM

Storage

1 TB NVMe M.2 SSD

Screen

16-inch 3K OLED 100% DCI-P3 120 Hz Touchscreen

OS

Microsoft Windows 11 Home 64-bit

Colour

Nano Black

Warranty

ASUS 12 Month Collect & Return Warranty

Price

£3,900 | $4,400

There are many like it, but this one is mine: The 20-core N1X chip, with 10 performance and 10 efficient cores, and the 6144 CUDA core GPU component. This version also comes with a 1 TB SSD (for a $4,400 spec? 😬 I know) and 64 GB of LPDDR5X-9400 memory.

This version of the ProArt P16 is rocking the 16-inch 2880 x 1800 touchscreen OLED display, while there is also a 3840 x 2400 OLED screen available (both 120 Hz) if you go for one of the even pricier models. That one's a touch brighter, but this 1800p OLED will still output at 500 nits, with a 1100 nit peak HDR output, so it's no slouch.

The paucity of storage is a definite disappointment for something at this price—look lower down the stack and you'll still be paying $2800 for the 24 GB version with just a 512 GB SSD. And I honestly do not see the point in that one except for all concerned to be able to say RTX Spark laptops "start from $2800". There is, however, a spare PCIe Gen5 SSD slot in the rear of the machine, which is easily accessible once you remove lots of torx screws.

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future
Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future

The keyboard would be a genuinely lovely thing for this device if I wasn't regularly getting additional keystrokes I did not ask for. I've had to keep deleting the extra spaces this thing keeps adding into my copy. There. I just had to kill another one. It's annoying.

What isn't annoying at all, though, is the glorious, massive haptic touchpad Asus has jammed onto this thing. It quite literally takes up half the width of the device. It's great to the touch, and impressively responsive as your digits glide across its surface. Mmm. Smooth.

It's meant to have a webcam, too, but I cannot for the life of me find out how to turn the damned thing on. I'm assuming that somewhere in there a ribbon cable has become ejected because the device sees nothing. This is what I mean by some quality control issues...

Asus ProArt P16 - Value

Haha. Hahahahahaha. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

C'mon. This is the mid-range ProArt P16 for $4,400. Any sense of value left the station a loooooooong time ago.

Asus ProArt P16 - Sound

Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark

(Image credit: Future)

This is a very pleasant surprise. The up-firing speakers set either side of the ProArt P16's keyboard are really, really good. Obviously that's still really, really good for laptop speakers, and they're are never going to replace your bookshelf speakers, but for clarity and, yes, even bass they do incredibly well.

And they're loud enough that they can largely overcome the sound coming out of the vents on the ProArt P16 when it's running in full performance mode. It does get rather chatty when the silicon is running at full throttle, and when you're talking about a system that's going to max out its GPU component when running both games and local large language models, that's probably going to happen quite a lot.

The pleasing thing, however, is that knocking things down to the Balanced preset in the ProArt Creator Hub (essentially a reskinned Armoury Crate) means that your performance only drops by a few percentage points but the fan noise drops by a whole hell of a lot. It's not silent—you have to dip into Whisper mode for that—but this is the preset you're going to want to spend most of your time running in.

Asus ProArt P16 - Performance

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

Somewhat inevitably, performance is a mixed bag of chips when it comes to the RTX Spark. For one, this is a first-gen product from Nvidia, fusing essentially off-the-shelf Arm cores with its own GPU cores, so broad, mature support was never going to be 100% there from the get-go. For another we're talking about games especially that are being run through the Microsoft Prism emulation layer in order for them to run at all on the Asus ProArt P16.

But even taking all that into account I think the gaming performance of this device is pretty damned impressive. The general suggestion ahead of the launch was that the 6144 CUDA core version would deliver gaming performance at a similar level to the RTX 5070 mobile GPUs. It has more cores than the mobile silicon, but is running at a lower clock speed and with a lower power budget, too.

Take a look at the relative 1080p gaming performance of Cyberpunk 2077 and Metro Exodus Enhanced Ed. running on the RTX Spark versus the 100 W Framework 16 or 115 W Razer Blade 14 and you can see where it doesn't quite match up to the GPU performance of the more thirsty graphics parts.

1 / 3

1080p gaming performance

Testing the relative gaming performance of different laptops across multiple games.

Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
36
27
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
43
33
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
45
28
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark36 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W43 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W45 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

But when you look at the power draw at those levels it becomes far more impressive. At 1080p in Metro, the Asus laptop is drawing an average of 43 W during the run, while the Razer machine is sitting at 97 W. That's well over double the power, but only running 12% faster in terms of frame rate.

It's also worth noting that we're talking about a GPU that has access to much more memory—albeit with lower memory bandwidth—than the 8 GB GDDR7 that the RTX 5070 mobile can draw on.

There are also times where there is genuine performance parity, too. Running the Black Myth Wukong benchmark and you can see there's a level of parity with the higher power Blade's GPU, even at the same native resolution when you throw upscaling into the mix.

System performance

Measuring the relative performance of the different laptop chips in terms of power and thermals.

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
Avg GPU power (W)
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
1906
43
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
2421
77
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
2589
97
GPU stats Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark1906 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 43 Avg GPU power (W)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W2421 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 77 Avg GPU power (W)
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W2589 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 97 Avg GPU power (W)

Where there is a clear difference, however, is when it comes to games that are CPU-bound. Baldur's Gate 3 is one game we use as a benchmark specifically because it highlights the performance differences between processors—on the desktop side it's a test which shows the dominance of AMD's 3D V-Cache technology and on mobile you'll see where Intel's CPUs still have performance to offer gamers.

And Baldur's Gate 3 really struggles on the RTX Spark in relation to the other machines. There are two reasons for this; the first being that emulation has an impact on CPU performance rather than GPU performance, so CPU-bound games will suffer more than GPU-bound ones. And second, the CPU cores themselves aren't exactly leading-edge silicon when it comes to single-threaded gaming performance.

System performance

Measuring the relative performance of the different laptop chips in terms of power and thermals.

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
Avg GPU power (W)
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
1906
43
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
2421
77
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
2589
97
GPU stats Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark1906 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 43 Avg GPU power (W)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W2421 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 77 Avg GPU power (W)
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W2589 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 97 Avg GPU power (W)

This is also highlighted in the Cinebench 2024 benchmarks, which show that, while the multi-threaded performance is fine with 20 cores to spread across, the single-core performance is well behind the competition.

Asus ProArt P16 - Aesthetics

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

Golly, this is a pretty laptop. I know I very much have 'a type', but the ProArt P16 is absolutely nailing the sleek black MacBook aesthetic that works for me. There is a subtle 'ProArt' logo on the lid, just shiny black against the matte black brushed aluminium, and one more etched logo on the bottom left corner of the frame.

And it's also incredibly slim, too. I thought the Blade 14 and Asus Zephyrus G16 were slimline little things, but the ProArt chassis takes it even further. It's super slight, but the brushed aluminium frame makes it perfectly rigid, while remaining lightweight.

But because it's a 16-inch machine, and one without a numpad—which might be a cause for concern for some creatives—the keycaps on the board are wide, so it feels comfortable to type on. I'm also into the big ol' trackpad Asus has used, too, and that OLED panel really makes the whole thing shine.

There is one other thing that has surprised me about the looks of the ProArt P16. After just over a week of solid use there is but a small amount of finger-grease on the spacebar (just because I have to keep hitting the damned thing to try and stop it sticking), but other than that the chassis is remarkably lacking in fingerprints. Normally, this sort of machine is an absolute fingerprint magnet, to the point where you'll want to be carrying around a microfibre cloth in your back pocket just so people don't think you're gross when you whip the laptop out in public.

Instead they may just question your insatiable need to polish up your notebook.

Asus ProArt P16 - Software

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

The main piece of software to talk about is the OS. Now, this isn't Windows On Arm; that's been effectively retired. This is just plain ol' Windows 11, that just so happens to be running on Arm. And it's impressively transparent as I said earlier. It's slick and feels exactly like running Windows on any other x86 laptop I've used. The only places where you'll notice the difference is in games where they need another level of anti-cheat support the Arm platform doesn't yet offer.

The ProArt P16 does come with a lot of other software, too. You get the aforementioned ProArt Creator Hub, which allows you to alter the power/fan presets, and then there's the MyAsus software where you can register your device and run diagnostics if anything goes wrong. Though I will say it didn't help me track down what was wrong with the webcam because it didn't register its existence, either.

Then you get StoryCube, a piece of software designed to help collate and classify the media on your device using AI. And MuseTree, an app designed for ProArt machines to quickly get you producing AI-generated video and images using local models. You will have to download some extra files/models to actually get up and running, but then you'll be able to run the FLUX.2 model to make your AI dreams a reality.

It's totally offline, so you don't necessarily have to worry about draining reservoirs of water or slamming the energy reserves just to mess around generating a picture of a gaming PC made entirely out of potato, but whether it's really something creatives are going to want to incorporate into their workflows… I am unconvinced.

Given that storage space is at a premium with these RTX Spark machines, I could do without any extra applications installed on my PC, which means there is a bit of cleanup you're going to have to indulge in to claw back the space taken up with pre-installed stuff. But it is all at least relatively unobtrusive. I mean, there's no McAfee pop-ups determined to bug you every 20 minutes unless you sign your life away for some AV cover of dubious virtue.

Asus ProArt P16 - Battery life

Battery life

Testing gaming battery life using PCMark 10's dedicate gaming battery life test.

PCMark 10

Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
86
Framework 16
131
Razer Blade 14 (2025)
134
037.575112.5150
Battery life (minutes)
PCMark 10 Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark86
Framework 16131
Razer Blade 14 (2025)134

I'll be honest, this is one of the real disappointments with the RTX Spark as a laptop platform. The battery life is really not great. With a 99.9 Whr battery inside it, and a relatively power-sipping, efficient platform, I was expecting the battery life to be a lot better than it actually turns out to be.

My expectation was that with an energy efficient Arm SoC I would be happily slapping the lid shut on the ProArt P16 and then flipping it open again ten hours later and it would spring back into life with barely a scratch on the battery capacity. That was effectively my experience from running a Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge and its Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, and I was hoping to see it replicated.

But no dice. I'm seeing definite power drain when the system suspends, much in the same way as the x86 Ryzen chip in my Blade 14 does.

And then in use it chews through the battery surprisingly quickly, too. I used the PCMark 10 CLI to run the Gaming Battery Life test, which loops 3DMark FireStrike tests until the battery runs dry, and I only got a paltry 86 minutes out of it. That's less than an hour and a half, when the Blade 14 and Framework 16, both with RTX 5070 GPUs, will easily top 130 minutes each.

Now, that is an emulated test, so not quite perfectly set up for this platform, but it's not been inconsistent with my experience actually using this device unplugged. When running a local AI model on Hermes Agent, for example, I've regularly had to plug into a power source while it churns through a tough problem (or sometimes what I thought was a simple one) because running the memory and the GPU at 100% have drained the battery very quickly.

The same is true for gaming, which feels odd given that in Balanced Mode it's running at a total SoC wattage of just over 40 W, and that shouldn't slam through the battery as quickly as it seems to. You can run in Whisper Mode, which cuts the power draw down by a healthy amount again, but then you are running at well under 1000 MHz on the GPU side and it does make gaming a little tougher on the eye.

]]> <![CDATA[ Intel bringing faster upscaler to Valve's Proton - XMX accelerated XeSS could come to SteamOS in boost to future Intel-powered handheld gaming PCs ]]> Intel has opened requests to add Intel XeSS support to Valve's Proton, signalling a renewed interest in getting its mobile gaming chips up to speed on the Linux operating system.

Some of the best handheld gaming PCs right now are powered by Intel processors, namely the Intel Arc G3 Extreme. That can be found in the formidable MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Though this is resolutely a Windows machine—Intel chips are built with Microsoft in mind, but more importantly, Valve has historically only supported AMD chips with SteamOS.

That's changing as time goes on. As spotted by Phoronix, Intel has opened pull requests for Intel XeSS support in Proton, specifically to utilise dedicated XMX cores in Intel's own GPUs for better performance.

Proton is the compatibility layer that allows games programmed for Windows to run on Linux machines, and has been crucial to the success of the Steam Deck and SteamOS as a whole. XeSS is Intel's upscaling technology, which works one of two ways, either using DP4a for wide support across various vendor's GPUs, or XMX on Intel's own GPUs. The XMX option is preferred.

"Adds a builtin libxess.dll which forwards the XeSS D3D12 calls to the Linux XeSS library (libxess.so)," says Intel engineer Damian Tomczak in the request, "so XeSS can use XMX (the fast upscaler) under Proton instead of the slower fallback path. D3D12 objects are converted to Vulkan through vkd3d-proton's interop interface."

The dream here is that, further to future support being added to Proton and SteamOS, we can happily switch our Windows-based handheld gaming PCs over to the Linux operating system without any hitches or performance drops. The good news is that this is already happening. Valve has this year "improved compatibility" with both AMD and Intel's recent platforms with recent SteamOS releases, and broader support for SteamOS goes beyond handhelds into plucky homemade Steam Machines, too.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/intel-bringing-faster-upscaler-to-valves-proton-xmx-accelerated-xess-could-come-to-steamos-in-boost-to-future-intel-powered-handheld-gaming-pcs/ d9QdM9NAsKaqEgkL2FtmFB Tue, 20 Oct 2026 09:57:43 +0000 false false false

Intel has opened requests to add Intel XeSS support to Valve's Proton, signalling a renewed interest in getting its mobile gaming chips up to speed on the Linux operating system.

Some of the best handheld gaming PCs right now are powered by Intel processors, namely the Intel Arc G3 Extreme. That can be found in the formidable MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Though this is resolutely a Windows machine—Intel chips are built with Microsoft in mind, but more importantly, Valve has historically only supported AMD chips with SteamOS.

That's changing as time goes on. As spotted by Phoronix, Intel has opened pull requests for Intel XeSS support in Proton, specifically to utilise dedicated XMX cores in Intel's own GPUs for better performance.

Proton is the compatibility layer that allows games programmed for Windows to run on Linux machines, and has been crucial to the success of the Steam Deck and SteamOS as a whole. XeSS is Intel's upscaling technology, which works one of two ways, either using DP4a for wide support across various vendor's GPUs, or XMX on Intel's own GPUs. The XMX option is preferred.

"Adds a builtin libxess.dll which forwards the XeSS D3D12 calls to the Linux XeSS library (libxess.so)," says Intel engineer Damian Tomczak in the request, "so XeSS can use XMX (the fast upscaler) under Proton instead of the slower fallback path. D3D12 objects are converted to Vulkan through vkd3d-proton's interop interface."

The dream here is that, further to future support being added to Proton and SteamOS, we can happily switch our Windows-based handheld gaming PCs over to the Linux operating system without any hitches or performance drops. The good news is that this is already happening. Valve has this year "improved compatibility" with both AMD and Intel's recent platforms with recent SteamOS releases, and broader support for SteamOS goes beyond handhelds into plucky homemade Steam Machines, too.

]]> <![CDATA[ New Steam Deck plugin means you can customise your Steam Achievement pop-ups to match Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, or anything your heart desires ]]>
I wasn't a fan of how Steam's achievement pop-ups looked on the Steam Deck, so I changed them. I made a Decky-Plugin that provides the gamer, to design their ideal achievement pop-up look with some added themes.
 from r/SteamDeck

Here's one for all you achievement addicts out there; you can now customise your Steam Deck achievement pop ups to match your PlayStation, Nintendo, or Xbox pop-ups. Yes, you can now unify that little achievement endorphin rush across your gaming platforms thanks to a new Decky plugin for your wee SteamOS handheld.

Actually it's a bit wider than that, because you're not locked into imitating the achievement pop-ups of existing platforms, you can customise the pop-ups however you want via this Achievement Customizer. And, as a Decky plugin, it should also work on any SteamOS-like Linux environment, such as Bazzite.

In the Reddit thread, the creator notes that they could also try to make it compatible with the Steam Machine, too. For the dozens of people actually gaming on those micro machines.

Though it's not in the Decky store as yet, the creator has detailed how to get it installed on your device using Developer Mode and it's all very straightforward. Put Decky into the Developer Mode and then install the plugin from the listed URL. Easy.

The creator of the plugin says they hand-drew the pixel art used in the customiser, and they designed the themes themselves, but they have used AI coding tools during the actual development of the of the plugin. That code is open source on Github for anyone to take a look through, if they're concerned about what they might be jamming onto their handheld.

I will admit that I don't totally understand the whole thing with achievements. I don't think there's been a game made that I felt I needed to 100% the whole thing, but I do understand that achievement hunting is almost a thing unto itself. And if you're going to get even more of a boost from tailoring that little achievement ping exactly how you want, then all power to you, my friend.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/new-steam-deck-plugin-means-you-can-customise-your-steam-achievement-pop-ups-to-match-xbox-playstation-nintendo-or-anything-your-heart-desires/ VAkgmP99iVpGKpbQy7ciiE Tue, 20 Oct 2026 09:38:16 +0000 false false false
I wasn't a fan of how Steam's achievement pop-ups looked on the Steam Deck, so I changed them. I made a Decky-Plugin that provides the gamer, to design their ideal achievement pop-up look with some added themes.
 from r/SteamDeck

Here's one for all you achievement addicts out there; you can now customise your Steam Deck achievement pop ups to match your PlayStation, Nintendo, or Xbox pop-ups. Yes, you can now unify that little achievement endorphin rush across your gaming platforms thanks to a new Decky plugin for your wee SteamOS handheld.

Actually it's a bit wider than that, because you're not locked into imitating the achievement pop-ups of existing platforms, you can customise the pop-ups however you want via this Achievement Customizer. And, as a Decky plugin, it should also work on any SteamOS-like Linux environment, such as Bazzite.

In the Reddit thread, the creator notes that they could also try to make it compatible with the Steam Machine, too. For the dozens of people actually gaming on those micro machines.

Though it's not in the Decky store as yet, the creator has detailed how to get it installed on your device using Developer Mode and it's all very straightforward. Put Decky into the Developer Mode and then install the plugin from the listed URL. Easy.

The creator of the plugin says they hand-drew the pixel art used in the customiser, and they designed the themes themselves, but they have used AI coding tools during the actual development of the of the plugin. That code is open source on Github for anyone to take a look through, if they're concerned about what they might be jamming onto their handheld.

I will admit that I don't totally understand the whole thing with achievements. I don't think there's been a game made that I felt I needed to 100% the whole thing, but I do understand that achievement hunting is almost a thing unto itself. And if you're going to get even more of a boost from tailoring that little achievement ping exactly how you want, then all power to you, my friend.

]]> <![CDATA[ Nvidia's RTX Spark makes for an impressive Arm-based gaming laptop but not one I'd recommend you buy just for PC gaming ]]> Well, here it is, Nvidia's all-in-one silicon, the RTX Spark. This is an SoC that's being promoted as the everything chip; the processor that can be all things to all people. It's a creator's chip, it's an AI-lover's chip, and it's a gamer's chip.

But all three of those kinds of people do need to have one thing in common: they need to be rather well off, because this is also an expensive chip. I spoke about it when the pricing first came to light last week, while I was at the launch event for this Windows-based tech. Even the cheapest of the RTX Spark machines coming our way will cost $2,700, and that will only get you the weaker cores, a paltry 24 GB of unified memory, and a 512 GB SSD.

That is certainly a limitation, but also completely expected in a time where all things PC cost a ludicrous amount of money, especially devices which are locked into requiring a colossal amount of memory to do their main task. Which, let's be honest here, is AI.

The unified memory architecture (UMA) of the RTX Spark is perfectly suited to providing a ton of memory for system resources, but also to be able to switch that over to supporting the GPU when it comes to smashing through local AI workloads which fill up the GPU's memory pool. It's the perfect time for Nvidia to release something like this, because local AI is set for a bit of an explosion in popularity (especially when the cloud services start charging real money for their services), but it's also the worst time because this sort of memory-heavy hardware is expensive.

But here it is in front of me, an RTX Spark laptop that looks for all the world like the slimline MacBook-esque Razer Blade machines I've loved for years. But this is no Blade, this is an Asus ProArt P16 and it's a stunner. Thinner than the Zephyrus G16 with a sleek aluminium body and a 64 GB, 20-core RTX Spark N1X chip inside it.

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

From the get-go I can say that this is not a platform I can really recommend to the average PC gamer

I've only been using it a short time, and there is so much to it and so much that is going to change over the next few months that I'm only really going to scratch the surface here. But today I'm going to go over the architecture and the gaming performance, and maybe I'll give you a little bit about my adventures in agentic AI as a palate cleanser later on.

Yet, even having spent under a week with an RTX Spark as my daily driver, I think from the get-go I can probably say that this is not a platform I can really recommend to the average PC gamer. It's too expensive and we're better served by the gaming laptops already on the market. But, it is an absolutely fascinating, and genuinely impressive platform, and could be a real glimpse at the future of PCs and laptops as a whole.

Nvidia RTX Spark - architecture

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. The promise of an all-Nvidia gaming laptop has been a tantalising prospect for years now; even before the company tried to buy Arm itself there were rumours of an SoC that would combine Arm cores with Nvidia's powerful GPU silicon.

AMD's had its own APUs for the longest time, and Intel has been running every facet of a laptop since the dark ages. So it's no surprise Nvidia wanted a piece of that pie.

And with Qualcomm taking the initial Windows-on-Arm hit with its Snapdragon Elite and Plus chips, letting the OS evolve around the early teething troubles, the time is now ripe for Nvidia's platform to come to fruition.

Actually, there is no Windows-on-Arm anymore as Microsoft is ditching the suffix and just calling it Windows, because Microsoft is all-in here, too. To be honest, I think that's largely down to the push for local AI and the fact Linux is generally where that lives right now—including the DGX Spark, which was the first desktop home of the N1X chip that's running the RTX Spark. But Microsoft is also helping on the gaming side, making the Prism emulation layer more robust on an Arm platform and also committing to bringing all the anti-cheat apps over that Linux currently doesn't have.

Though Epic is working on the Linux side of that right now.

Nvidia RTX Spark configurations

RTX Spark N1X
(5120-core GPU, 18-core CPU)

RTX Spark N1X
(6144-core GPU, 20-core CPU)

CPU cores

18 total
(9 Arm Cortex-X925 + 9 Arm Cortex-A725)

20 total
(10 Arm Cortex-X925 + 10 Arm Cortex-A725)

Maximum performance-core clock

3.9 GHz

4.0–4.1 GHz

Maximum efficiency-core clock

2.8 GHz

2.8 GHz

GPU architecture

Blackwell RTX

Blackwell RTX

CUDA cores

5,120

6,144

Streaming multiprocessors (SMs)

40

48

RT core generation

Fourth generation

Fourth generation

Tensor core generation

Fifth generation

Fifth generation

Unified memory type

LPDDR5X

LPDDR5X

Memory interface

256-bit / 16-channel

256-bit / 16-channel

Memory interface speed

Up to 9,400 Mbps

Up to 9,400 Mbps

Peak memory bandwidth

Up to 300 GB/s

Up to 300 GB/s

NVLink C2C bandwidth

600 GB/s bidirectional

600 GB/s bidirectional

Display interface support

HDMI 2.1a; DisplayPort 2.0 over USB4

HDMI 2.1a; DisplayPort 2.0 over USB4

Process technology

TSMC 3 nm (both dies)

TSMC 3 nm (both dies)

Configurable SoC TDP

45–80 W

45–80 W

The Nvidia RTX Spark SoC packs in all the Nvidia good stuff alongside a whole slew of, what appear to be, relatively off-the-shelf Arm cores. This is all packed in alongside up to 128 GB of unified LPDDR5X-9400 memory.

First the GPU side. This is exactly the same as we've already seen drop in the DGX Spark machine launched around this time last year; it's an RTX Blackwell-based chip, sporting 6144 CUDA cores across 48 SMs. Effectively, that's the same core configuration as the desktop RTX 5070 GPU, the GB205, although with a chunk less L2 cache, and a necessarily slower clock speed.

Dave holding an Nvidia RTX Spark chip in his hand

(Image credit: Future)

This is one of the reasons that, despite having the same configuration as the desktop RTX 5070, Nvidia is tempering performance expectations by suggesting it will be more akin to the performance of the mobile RTX 5070 (which has fewer SM) in actual gaming performance.

Aside from the cache difference, and the overall difference in attached system memory (LPDDR5X not GDDR7) we can assume that the layout of the Blackwell SM remains the same as it has done since the architecture first launched. There are still 128 CUDA cores per SM and I would expect 192 fifth gen Tensor Cores and 48 fourth gen RT Cores, as there are in the DGX Spark's chip.

The 256-bit memory interface and slower memory means you're getting 300 GB/s of memory bandwidth, against the 672 GB/s the desktop RTX 5070 configuration can offer on its 192-bit bus. But these are slightly apples vs. oranges comparisons because of the platform the RTX Spark is sitting in, the unified memory architecture (UMA) it's surrounded by, and the CPU companion it has.

Nvidia's N1X RTX Spark cores
Nvidia
Nvidia's N1X RTX Spark cores
Nvidia

Which, although Nvidia is calling it a Grace CPU, and custom-made with MediaTek, does still just sport some off-the-shelf Arm cores. But a lot of them, to be fair. There are 10 'performance' Arm Cortex-X925 cores and 10 'efficient' Arm Cortex-A725 cores and they mark the peak of Arm's 2024 lineup.

As far as we know, however, there hasn't been any additional work done with these cores to help bolster the necessary emulation to be able to run the x86-focused workloads that are going to be thrown their way. This is the step Apple has taken with its own Arm cores, making sure they're designed from the ground up to take care of such things.

There is also a second, cut-down RTX Spark SoC. That comes with 5120 CUDA cores across 40 SMs (so a commensurate reduction in Tensor cores and RT cores, too) and with 18 Arm CPU cores, meaning one less of each of the performance and efficient cores.

Nvidia RTX Spark - Gaming performance

1 / 3

1080p gaming performance

Testing the relative gaming performance of different laptops across multiple games.

Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
36
27
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
43
33
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
45
28
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark36 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W43 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W45 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

The performance I've been getting out of this slim little gaming laptop has been impressive. Especially when you consider the power it's drawing to get mighty close to (and sometimes matching) the performance of gaming laptops whose GPUs alone are running to 115 W of power.

The Metro Exodus Enhanced benchmark is the one we've been consistently using for gaming performance metrics because we can easily loop the test runs to provide a more long-term understanding of what happens over a gaming session. And, looking at the numbers the RTX Spark in this Asus ProArt P16 laptop is demonstrating, you can see what an efficient piece of silicon this is.

We ran a triple loop of the Metro Exodus Enhanced benchmark at top 1080p settings and while the RTX Spark machine was demonstrably slower than the other RTX 5070 systems I'm comparing it against, it's running at a fraction of the power draw. At 75 fps it is behind the 115 W RTX 5070 in the Blade 14 at 84 fps, but the chip is running almost 700 MHz slower and drawing down an average of 43 W over that run compared to 97 W for the Razer laptop.

System performance

Measuring the relative performance of the different laptop chips in terms of power and thermals.

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
Avg GPU power (W)
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
1906
43
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
2421
77
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
2589
97
GPU stats Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark1906 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 43 Avg GPU power (W)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W2421 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 77 Avg GPU power (W)
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W2589 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 97 Avg GPU power (W)

The other side of that is that, because it's such an efficient setup pulling the plug out of the side of the thing isn't going to slam the frame rate. You're still going to get within a percentage point of the same performance whether you're plugged into the wall or not.

Keep this thing in Performance mode and I've seen the frame rate change by maybe a couple of fps, but nothing that's really more than could be explained by statistical variance. Nvidia says that you will get around 99% of the performance from the battery you get from the plug, and that bears out.

But even on Balanced power mode, in the ProArt Creator Hub (a reskinned Armoury Crate), while the power draw drops to 30 W and the GPU clock speed to 1572 MHz, I only saw Metro's benchmark drop by maybe five frames per second on average.

That's not to say there aren't issues here, because at full power you're still not going to be gaming for hours. I measured under an hour and a half running the Fire Strike benchmark on loop via the PCMark 10 CLI. Which is not really what I'd hoped to see from an efficient Arm-based system.

This is still a gaming laptop that wants to be plugged in for the most part, maybe not for performance but definitely for longevity.

Battery life

Testing gaming battery life using PCMark 10's dedicate gaming battery life test.

PCMark 10

Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
86
Framework 16
131
Razer Blade 14 (2025)
134
037.575112.5150
Battery life (minutes)
PCMark 10 Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark86
Framework 16131
Razer Blade 14 (2025)134

The other inevitable issues surround emulation. This is not an x86 system and while Microsoft's Prism layer is very good for the most part, there are problems with running games on an Arm system that will be familiar to anyone who's spent any time playing games on Linux. Yes, the hoary ol' chestnut of anti-cheat.

The good news is that Microsoft is working hard on this, presumably with the aim of stopping defectors from entering the sunny uplands of Linux gaming, and a ton of anti-cheat providers are already running on RTX Spark and Windows (formerly on Arm). From everybody's favourite, Denuvo, to BattlEye and EAC, a host of multiplayer games can be played from day one.

But there are still some notable exceptions, the main one for me being EA's Javelin. I like me some Battlefield, and I've been playing a lot of FC27 recently, too, for I am a football-liker. These are currently games not compatible with RTX Spark, nor is the F1 24 benchmark we run across our gaming laptop suite, either. Javelin is expected to be updated and added to the list of supported anti-cheats next year, but for right now, you're out of luck.

CPU performance

Testing the straight CPU performance of the relative laptop silicon.

Multi-core index score
Single-core index score
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
1018
72
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
1158
105
MSI Crosshair 16 HX | Core Ultra 9 275HX
1320
134
Razer Blade 14 | Ryzen AI 9 365
1054
115
Cinebench 2024 Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark1018 Multi-core index score, 72 Single-core index score
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 3701158 Multi-core index score, 105 Single-core index score
MSI Crosshair 16 HX | Core Ultra 9 275HX
1320 Multi-core index score, 134 Single-core index score
Razer Blade 14 | Ryzen AI 9 3651054 Multi-core index score, 115 Single-core index score

The other issue is also CPU related, though not 100% emulation based. Those Arm cores, even the X925 'performance' cores are not the same as the x86 chips from AMD and Intel right now. Multithreading is fine, but the real problem is single core performance. Take a look at the Cinebench scores and you'll see what I mean.

With a single core score of 72 it's well behind the other chips in the test. Those this benchmark will, of course, be emulated and that is going to impact the outcome, but it highlights where the limitations lie with Nvidia's approach to the SoC. Translate that into gaming terms and the Baldur's Gate 3 benchmark above highlights this perfectly.

This is a game we use to benchmark the gaming performance of a system's CPU because the end-game in the city really demands a lot from your processor. That's why you'll see the MSI Crosshair 16 HX topping the benchmarks here, with its grunty Intel processor. And down the bottom is the RTX Spark with its Arm cores chugging along some 43% slower in terms of frame rate.

Nvidia RTX Spark - Early impressions

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future
Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future
Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future
Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future

I can't really give a solid verdict on the RTX Spark having only had it in my hands for less than a week. But I can certainly give you my first impressions. And they are that the platform delivers a really great device. The Asus ProArt P16 is an absolute delight to use, and the performance it delivers is genuinely impressive.

If this were the same price, or even slightly more than an RTX 5070 gaming laptop, then it would be an easy thing to call this the future of mobile gaming machines. It comes in a thoroughly enjoyable form factor, performs admirably, and it would be a real toss-up for me as to whether I would rather this or the Razer Blade 14.

But it's not. This is a $4,400 machine, and while you can't currently pick up Blade 14 right now, you can get really lovely RTX 5070 gaming laptops for a lot lot less.

So, it can't be a solid recommendation for a dedicated PC gamer.

A glimpse into a future where the x86 hegemony of hardware has well and truly been put to rest

For less than the price of this middle-range RTX Spark laptop, you can pick up a very well-specced RTX 5090 laptop that comes with 24 GB of very fast GDDR7 VRAM. And that will really do the business when it comes to local AI. Yes, you can go and buy a 24 GB RTX Spark for $2,700, but that would be the same overall memory pool as a standard 16 GB laptop with an RTX 5070. Or even RTX 5060 for that matter. That's not going to get you real access to good local AI models to take advantage of what makes the RTX Spark special.

And there are things that do make it special. If you could stretch to the 64 GB version I have here, and you do far more than game on your device, it does become almost that do-everything laptop. You absolutely can play games on this at high frame rates when you're done doing serious work things, but you can also slam through beefy local AI models, but you also have both the GPU and memory power to run through practically any creative task you put your mind to. And Windows (formerly 'on Arm') is now so transparent that almost every application you might use to do that is fully supported on the OS.

This is my daily driver now, and I'll be spending a lot more time with it to give a more considered take down the line, combined with a whole lot more gaming benchmarks. But for now, and for a very specific audience, this is a hell of a machine. For the rest of us? Well, it's a glimpse into a future where the x86 hegemony of hardware has well and truly been put to rest.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/nvidias-rtx-spark-makes-for-an-impressive-arm-based-gaming-laptop-but-not-one-id-recommend-you-buy-just-for-pc-gaming/ JQ9x9a69R7prL5cQr7Y3ug Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:35:06 +0000 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 14:53:42 +0000 false false false

Well, here it is, Nvidia's all-in-one silicon, the RTX Spark. This is an SoC that's being promoted as the everything chip; the processor that can be all things to all people. It's a creator's chip, it's an AI-lover's chip, and it's a gamer's chip.

But all three of those kinds of people do need to have one thing in common: they need to be rather well off, because this is also an expensive chip. I spoke about it when the pricing first came to light last week, while I was at the launch event for this Windows-based tech. Even the cheapest of the RTX Spark machines coming our way will cost $2,700, and that will only get you the weaker cores, a paltry 24 GB of unified memory, and a 512 GB SSD.

That is certainly a limitation, but also completely expected in a time where all things PC cost a ludicrous amount of money, especially devices which are locked into requiring a colossal amount of memory to do their main task. Which, let's be honest here, is AI.

The unified memory architecture (UMA) of the RTX Spark is perfectly suited to providing a ton of memory for system resources, but also to be able to switch that over to supporting the GPU when it comes to smashing through local AI workloads which fill up the GPU's memory pool. It's the perfect time for Nvidia to release something like this, because local AI is set for a bit of an explosion in popularity (especially when the cloud services start charging real money for their services), but it's also the worst time because this sort of memory-heavy hardware is expensive.

But here it is in front of me, an RTX Spark laptop that looks for all the world like the slimline MacBook-esque Razer Blade machines I've loved for years. But this is no Blade, this is an Asus ProArt P16 and it's a stunner. Thinner than the Zephyrus G16 with a sleek aluminium body and a 64 GB, 20-core RTX Spark N1X chip inside it.

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

From the get-go I can say that this is not a platform I can really recommend to the average PC gamer

I've only been using it a short time, and there is so much to it and so much that is going to change over the next few months that I'm only really going to scratch the surface here. But today I'm going to go over the architecture and the gaming performance, and maybe I'll give you a little bit about my adventures in agentic AI as a palate cleanser later on.

Yet, even having spent under a week with an RTX Spark as my daily driver, I think from the get-go I can probably say that this is not a platform I can really recommend to the average PC gamer. It's too expensive and we're better served by the gaming laptops already on the market. But, it is an absolutely fascinating, and genuinely impressive platform, and could be a real glimpse at the future of PCs and laptops as a whole.

Nvidia RTX Spark - architecture

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside

(Image credit: Future)

I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. The promise of an all-Nvidia gaming laptop has been a tantalising prospect for years now; even before the company tried to buy Arm itself there were rumours of an SoC that would combine Arm cores with Nvidia's powerful GPU silicon.

AMD's had its own APUs for the longest time, and Intel has been running every facet of a laptop since the dark ages. So it's no surprise Nvidia wanted a piece of that pie.

And with Qualcomm taking the initial Windows-on-Arm hit with its Snapdragon Elite and Plus chips, letting the OS evolve around the early teething troubles, the time is now ripe for Nvidia's platform to come to fruition.

Actually, there is no Windows-on-Arm anymore as Microsoft is ditching the suffix and just calling it Windows, because Microsoft is all-in here, too. To be honest, I think that's largely down to the push for local AI and the fact Linux is generally where that lives right now—including the DGX Spark, which was the first desktop home of the N1X chip that's running the RTX Spark. But Microsoft is also helping on the gaming side, making the Prism emulation layer more robust on an Arm platform and also committing to bringing all the anti-cheat apps over that Linux currently doesn't have.

Though Epic is working on the Linux side of that right now.

Nvidia RTX Spark configurations

RTX Spark N1X
(5120-core GPU, 18-core CPU)

RTX Spark N1X
(6144-core GPU, 20-core CPU)

CPU cores

18 total
(9 Arm Cortex-X925 + 9 Arm Cortex-A725)

20 total
(10 Arm Cortex-X925 + 10 Arm Cortex-A725)

Maximum performance-core clock

3.9 GHz

4.0–4.1 GHz

Maximum efficiency-core clock

2.8 GHz

2.8 GHz

GPU architecture

Blackwell RTX

Blackwell RTX

CUDA cores

5,120

6,144

Streaming multiprocessors (SMs)

40

48

RT core generation

Fourth generation

Fourth generation

Tensor core generation

Fifth generation

Fifth generation

Unified memory type

LPDDR5X

LPDDR5X

Memory interface

256-bit / 16-channel

256-bit / 16-channel

Memory interface speed

Up to 9,400 Mbps

Up to 9,400 Mbps

Peak memory bandwidth

Up to 300 GB/s

Up to 300 GB/s

NVLink C2C bandwidth

600 GB/s bidirectional

600 GB/s bidirectional

Display interface support

HDMI 2.1a; DisplayPort 2.0 over USB4

HDMI 2.1a; DisplayPort 2.0 over USB4

Process technology

TSMC 3 nm (both dies)

TSMC 3 nm (both dies)

Configurable SoC TDP

45–80 W

45–80 W

The Nvidia RTX Spark SoC packs in all the Nvidia good stuff alongside a whole slew of, what appear to be, relatively off-the-shelf Arm cores. This is all packed in alongside up to 128 GB of unified LPDDR5X-9400 memory.

First the GPU side. This is exactly the same as we've already seen drop in the DGX Spark machine launched around this time last year; it's an RTX Blackwell-based chip, sporting 6144 CUDA cores across 48 SMs. Effectively, that's the same core configuration as the desktop RTX 5070 GPU, the GB205, although with a chunk less L2 cache, and a necessarily slower clock speed.

Dave holding an Nvidia RTX Spark chip in his hand

(Image credit: Future)

This is one of the reasons that, despite having the same configuration as the desktop RTX 5070, Nvidia is tempering performance expectations by suggesting it will be more akin to the performance of the mobile RTX 5070 (which has fewer SM) in actual gaming performance.

Aside from the cache difference, and the overall difference in attached system memory (LPDDR5X not GDDR7) we can assume that the layout of the Blackwell SM remains the same as it has done since the architecture first launched. There are still 128 CUDA cores per SM and I would expect 192 fifth gen Tensor Cores and 48 fourth gen RT Cores, as there are in the DGX Spark's chip.

The 256-bit memory interface and slower memory means you're getting 300 GB/s of memory bandwidth, against the 672 GB/s the desktop RTX 5070 configuration can offer on its 192-bit bus. But these are slightly apples vs. oranges comparisons because of the platform the RTX Spark is sitting in, the unified memory architecture (UMA) it's surrounded by, and the CPU companion it has.

Nvidia's N1X RTX Spark cores
Nvidia
Nvidia's N1X RTX Spark cores
Nvidia

Which, although Nvidia is calling it a Grace CPU, and custom-made with MediaTek, does still just sport some off-the-shelf Arm cores. But a lot of them, to be fair. There are 10 'performance' Arm Cortex-X925 cores and 10 'efficient' Arm Cortex-A725 cores and they mark the peak of Arm's 2024 lineup.

As far as we know, however, there hasn't been any additional work done with these cores to help bolster the necessary emulation to be able to run the x86-focused workloads that are going to be thrown their way. This is the step Apple has taken with its own Arm cores, making sure they're designed from the ground up to take care of such things.

There is also a second, cut-down RTX Spark SoC. That comes with 5120 CUDA cores across 40 SMs (so a commensurate reduction in Tensor cores and RT cores, too) and with 18 Arm CPU cores, meaning one less of each of the performance and efficient cores.

Nvidia RTX Spark - Gaming performance

1 / 3

1080p gaming performance

Testing the relative gaming performance of different laptops across multiple games.

Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
36
27
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
43
33
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
45
28
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark36 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W43 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W45 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

The performance I've been getting out of this slim little gaming laptop has been impressive. Especially when you consider the power it's drawing to get mighty close to (and sometimes matching) the performance of gaming laptops whose GPUs alone are running to 115 W of power.

The Metro Exodus Enhanced benchmark is the one we've been consistently using for gaming performance metrics because we can easily loop the test runs to provide a more long-term understanding of what happens over a gaming session. And, looking at the numbers the RTX Spark in this Asus ProArt P16 laptop is demonstrating, you can see what an efficient piece of silicon this is.

We ran a triple loop of the Metro Exodus Enhanced benchmark at top 1080p settings and while the RTX Spark machine was demonstrably slower than the other RTX 5070 systems I'm comparing it against, it's running at a fraction of the power draw. At 75 fps it is behind the 115 W RTX 5070 in the Blade 14 at 84 fps, but the chip is running almost 700 MHz slower and drawing down an average of 43 W over that run compared to 97 W for the Razer laptop.

System performance

Measuring the relative performance of the different laptop chips in terms of power and thermals.

Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
Avg GPU power (W)
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
1906
43
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W
2421
77
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W
2589
97
GPU stats Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark1906 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 43 Avg GPU power (W)
Framework 16 | RTX 5070 100 W2421 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 77 Avg GPU power (W)
Razer Blade 14 | RTX 5070 115 W2589 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 97 Avg GPU power (W)

The other side of that is that, because it's such an efficient setup pulling the plug out of the side of the thing isn't going to slam the frame rate. You're still going to get within a percentage point of the same performance whether you're plugged into the wall or not.

Keep this thing in Performance mode and I've seen the frame rate change by maybe a couple of fps, but nothing that's really more than could be explained by statistical variance. Nvidia says that you will get around 99% of the performance from the battery you get from the plug, and that bears out.

But even on Balanced power mode, in the ProArt Creator Hub (a reskinned Armoury Crate), while the power draw drops to 30 W and the GPU clock speed to 1572 MHz, I only saw Metro's benchmark drop by maybe five frames per second on average.

That's not to say there aren't issues here, because at full power you're still not going to be gaming for hours. I measured under an hour and a half running the Fire Strike benchmark on loop via the PCMark 10 CLI. Which is not really what I'd hoped to see from an efficient Arm-based system.

This is still a gaming laptop that wants to be plugged in for the most part, maybe not for performance but definitely for longevity.

Battery life

Testing gaming battery life using PCMark 10's dedicate gaming battery life test.

PCMark 10

Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
86
Framework 16
131
Razer Blade 14 (2025)
134
037.575112.5150
Battery life (minutes)
PCMark 10 Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark86
Framework 16131
Razer Blade 14 (2025)134

The other inevitable issues surround emulation. This is not an x86 system and while Microsoft's Prism layer is very good for the most part, there are problems with running games on an Arm system that will be familiar to anyone who's spent any time playing games on Linux. Yes, the hoary ol' chestnut of anti-cheat.

The good news is that Microsoft is working hard on this, presumably with the aim of stopping defectors from entering the sunny uplands of Linux gaming, and a ton of anti-cheat providers are already running on RTX Spark and Windows (formerly on Arm). From everybody's favourite, Denuvo, to BattlEye and EAC, a host of multiplayer games can be played from day one.

But there are still some notable exceptions, the main one for me being EA's Javelin. I like me some Battlefield, and I've been playing a lot of FC27 recently, too, for I am a football-liker. These are currently games not compatible with RTX Spark, nor is the F1 24 benchmark we run across our gaming laptop suite, either. Javelin is expected to be updated and added to the list of supported anti-cheats next year, but for right now, you're out of luck.

CPU performance

Testing the straight CPU performance of the relative laptop silicon.

Multi-core index score
Single-core index score
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark
1018
72
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
1158
105
MSI Crosshair 16 HX | Core Ultra 9 275HX
1320
134
Razer Blade 14 | Ryzen AI 9 365
1054
115
Cinebench 2024 Data
ProductValue
Asus ProArt P16 | RTX Spark1018 Multi-core index score, 72 Single-core index score
Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 3701158 Multi-core index score, 105 Single-core index score
MSI Crosshair 16 HX | Core Ultra 9 275HX
1320 Multi-core index score, 134 Single-core index score
Razer Blade 14 | Ryzen AI 9 3651054 Multi-core index score, 115 Single-core index score

The other issue is also CPU related, though not 100% emulation based. Those Arm cores, even the X925 'performance' cores are not the same as the x86 chips from AMD and Intel right now. Multithreading is fine, but the real problem is single core performance. Take a look at the Cinebench scores and you'll see what I mean.

With a single core score of 72 it's well behind the other chips in the test. Those this benchmark will, of course, be emulated and that is going to impact the outcome, but it highlights where the limitations lie with Nvidia's approach to the SoC. Translate that into gaming terms and the Baldur's Gate 3 benchmark above highlights this perfectly.

This is a game we use to benchmark the gaming performance of a system's CPU because the end-game in the city really demands a lot from your processor. That's why you'll see the MSI Crosshair 16 HX topping the benchmarks here, with its grunty Intel processor. And down the bottom is the RTX Spark with its Arm cores chugging along some 43% slower in terms of frame rate.

Nvidia RTX Spark - Early impressions

Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future
Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future
Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future
Asus ProArt P16 laptop with Nvidia's RTX Spark inside
Future

I can't really give a solid verdict on the RTX Spark having only had it in my hands for less than a week. But I can certainly give you my first impressions. And they are that the platform delivers a really great device. The Asus ProArt P16 is an absolute delight to use, and the performance it delivers is genuinely impressive.

If this were the same price, or even slightly more than an RTX 5070 gaming laptop, then it would be an easy thing to call this the future of mobile gaming machines. It comes in a thoroughly enjoyable form factor, performs admirably, and it would be a real toss-up for me as to whether I would rather this or the Razer Blade 14.

But it's not. This is a $4,400 machine, and while you can't currently pick up Blade 14 right now, you can get really lovely RTX 5070 gaming laptops for a lot lot less.

So, it can't be a solid recommendation for a dedicated PC gamer.

A glimpse into a future where the x86 hegemony of hardware has well and truly been put to rest

For less than the price of this middle-range RTX Spark laptop, you can pick up a very well-specced RTX 5090 laptop that comes with 24 GB of very fast GDDR7 VRAM. And that will really do the business when it comes to local AI. Yes, you can go and buy a 24 GB RTX Spark for $2,700, but that would be the same overall memory pool as a standard 16 GB laptop with an RTX 5070. Or even RTX 5060 for that matter. That's not going to get you real access to good local AI models to take advantage of what makes the RTX Spark special.

And there are things that do make it special. If you could stretch to the 64 GB version I have here, and you do far more than game on your device, it does become almost that do-everything laptop. You absolutely can play games on this at high frame rates when you're done doing serious work things, but you can also slam through beefy local AI models, but you also have both the GPU and memory power to run through practically any creative task you put your mind to. And Windows (formerly 'on Arm') is now so transparent that almost every application you might use to do that is fully supported on the OS.

This is my daily driver now, and I'll be spending a lot more time with it to give a more considered take down the line, combined with a whole lot more gaming benchmarks. But for now, and for a very specific audience, this is a hell of a machine. For the rest of us? Well, it's a glimpse into a future where the x86 hegemony of hardware has well and truly been put to rest.

]]> <![CDATA[ Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 review ]]>

The Asus ROG 20th anniversary lineup has been interesting. Black, gold, and indulgent feels like the tagline here, with the Azoth Extreme Edition 20 and ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 containing actual gold, and a fitting price tag to boot.

For any criticisms I may have, I don't think you're paying primarily for the branding on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20, though. You get a new OLED screen which is bigger and brighter than the IPS panel in the standard Xbox Ally X, TMR thumbsticks, refined triggers, a new cooling system, and with that screen comes a snappy 0.2 ms response time.

Refined is a good word for the device as a whole. Coming a year later than the last model, the software is smooth and intuitive, and it's easy to swap between Xbox and Windows mode, though it still doesn't feel like a console in practice. For my money, it's the best ROG Ally on the market right now, but the memory crisis has skewed the price of all gaming gear, and the X20 is certainly not the best value as a result.

Buy if…

✅ You want a beefy OLED handheld: OLED handhelds are still fairly niche, and with recent price bumps, I'd pick this over the Legion Go 2 or OneXPlayer's offerings.

✅ You want power on the go: I'd suggest a significantly cheaper handheld if you are after low-intensity games and don't particularly care for big-budget ones. For your Cyberpunks and your Horizons, you will want a Z2 Extreme chip or better to play them at a decent resolution and settings.

Don't buy if…

❌ You're fine with IPS: $300 more for the X20 over the X is pretty steep, especially if you aren't dying to play on an OLED.

❌ You live in the UK: The pricing on the X20 is not as good value in Britain, with the superior G3-equipped MSI Claw being only £100 more (though no OLED) and the standard Xbox Ally X £400 less.

Features

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Ally X specs

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

Processor

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

CPU architecture

Zen 5 / Zen 5c

Zen 5 / Zen 5c

Core / threads

8 / 16

8 / 16

CPU boost clock

5 GHz

5 GHz

GPU architecture

RDNA 3.5

RDNA 3.5

Shader count

1024

1024

GPU boost clock

2.9 GHz

2.9 GHz

VRAM

8 GB (shared, adjustable)

8 GB (shared, adjustable)

Memory

24 GB LPDDR5X

24 GB LPDDR5X

Screen

7.4-inch OLED display

7-inch IPS LCD display

Resolution / refresh rate

1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz

1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz

Peak brightness

1400 nits

500 nits

Storage

1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

Thumbsticks

TMR

Magnetic

Connectivity

1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible

1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0

1x UHS-II microSD Express card reader

1x 3.5 mm combo jack

1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible

1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0

1x UHS-II microSD card reader

1x 3.5 mm combo jack

Dimensions

30.0 x 12.1 x 5.13 cm

29 x 12.1 x 5.07 cm

Battery

80 Wh

80 Wh

Weight

756 g

715 g

Price

$1,300 / £1300

$1,000/£900 (MSRP)

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 (or should I say XBOX) is a relatively granular update on the Xbox Ally X. I noticed it immediately when putting the two devices side by side, but when it comes to performance, you're getting identical experiences. They have the same chip, the same memory, the same storage. That's the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, 24 GB LPDDR5X, and 1 TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280, respectively.

Given you don't get a performance bump, you've gotta really care about the details to consider the X20. Arguably its biggest upgrade is the OLED panel, and it is a beauty. The DisplayHDR True Black 1400 certification isn't just for show, as it pops, appearing both bright and ultra-vibrant. It's also got a bigger screen, which does make the device more immersive, but also larger and chunkier.

You can technically upgrade the plain old joysticks in the ROG Xbox Ally X with a TMR module with a bit of know-how, but slapping in your own OLED screen would be very difficult, and I certainly wouldn't trust myself to do such fine electronic surgery. Therefore, I do see value in an upgraded, refined, and pretty older brother of last year's device. It's also got a whole new cooling system for frostier temps.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future

You also get smaller upgrades here, like the ability to pull up and turn the D-Pad to make the corner buttons more or less pronounced, plus greater grooves on the face buttons to stop jagged edges, and a combination of more clicky bumpers and smoother triggers. These all combine to make the X20 feel more thoughtful in approach, and given the price bump, it sort of has to do that.

The X20 doesn't come with a charger in the box, which makes sense from an e-waste point of view, but it does mean you will get lacking plugged-in performance without an appropriately speedy charger. For instance, I ran the device at 35 W mode and did some of my benchmarks before realising I wasn't getting the full-fat 35 W mode because my charger wasn't quick enough.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld

(Image credit: Future)

Could you say that's my fault for not seeing the low-power pop-up from Asus' software Armoury Crate? Absolutely. Does that mean you may need to pick up a quick charger if you want full-wattage plugged-in performance? Also, absolutely.

The box for the X20 also comes with a cardboard stand, which doesn't feel as luxurious as the device itself but is clean, effective, and environmentally conscious. It's a small but decent addition that I've been using consistently since unboxing the device without any problems.

Performance

There was a brief period when the original Asus ROG Xbox Ally X was the highest-performing gaming handheld money could buy. That was until the launch of the much more expensive MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (catchy name, I know) broke onto the scene.

Despite launching a year after the original Xbox Ally X, the X20 sees no difference in power (as it has identical specs), and therefore my performance figures are more or less the same as what Dave got in his review of the standard Xbox Ally X. I got a little less in Metro and a little more in Horizon and Cyberpunk 2077, with lower 1% lows in F1 25.

1080p gaming performance

In a handful of games, with upscaling on and off (35 W plugged in)

Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Ally X
20
17
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
26
19
Lenovo Legion Go S
15
11
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)
24
20
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)
33
16
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro
22
16
010203040
Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium) Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Ally X20 Avg FPS, 17 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X2026 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S15 Avg FPS, 11 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)24 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)33 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro22 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS

I left the GPU memory budget at 8 GB, flicked the device onto its 35 W Turbo mode, and had a good time in F1 24, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Metro Exodus without any upscaling. Cyberpunk 2077 is borderline, sitting around the 40 fps mark, but I couldn't recommend Black Myth Wukong without a bit of upscaling or frame generation.

These are really respectable scores, and more than enough for handheld gaming right now. The AMD Z2 Extreme chip is still a great performer, and though it's not the top dog, it's certainly one of them. The actual top dog, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM and its Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, ekes out better performance with anywhere between a 20-40% performance uplift in our game testing, but it's also just under 40% more expensive in the US.

Productivity suite testing

Scores in major productivity suites and benchmarking tools (35 W plugged in)

Index score
GPU index score
CPU index score
Asus ROG Ally X
3395
3052
9381
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
4086
3771
9568
Lenovo Legion Go S
2244
2072
4246
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)
4890
4520
9141
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)
6499
6091
10487
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro
3690
3335
9333
03,7507,50011,25015,000
3DMark Time Spy Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Ally X3395 Index score, 3052 GPU index score, 9381 CPU index score
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X204086 Index score, 3771 GPU index score, 9568 CPU index score
Lenovo Legion Go S2244 Index score, 2072 GPU index score, 4246 CPU index score
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)4890 Index score, 4520 GPU index score, 9141 CPU index score
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)6499 Index score, 6091 GPU index score, 10487 CPU index score
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro3690 Index score, 3335 GPU index score, 9333 CPU index score

One thing I am impressed with is the same thing our Dave was impressed with: the ROG Ally X20 works an absolute treat pulled down to between 15 W and 20 W. It's a great way of preserving battery, keeping thermals frosty (though the X20 already rocks in that regard) and bringing down fan noise. When I'm looking to play Balatro, I bring that wattage way down and forget about it until the X20 dies half a day later. I swear I only planned on having one game.

Ergonomics

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future

The X20 is very likely the most comfortable handheld I've ever, well, hand…held. It has a slight cutout between the screen and the grips, which I often found myself sliding my index finger and pinky fingers under, and the new rubberised grips not only feel great but offer good enough traction that I'm never afraid of it slipping out of my hands.

It's so clear from the X20 that Microsoft know how to make controllers, as the buttons are fittingly clacky, the thumbsticks feel great, and the bumpers and triggers are easy to press down, with a comforting click to know I was successful. Well, as successful as I can be when I'm missing headshots.

I do really miss a trackpad, though. Windows 11 mode is fine enough, but feels like a slight downgrade without an intuitive way to control the mouse. My fat fingers struggle to click on the right thing sometimes, especially if it's a fairly small box, though the larger screen helps. You can control the mouse with the left analogue stick via Armoury Crate, but it doesn't beat the smoothness of a trackpad.

Still, trackpads are fairly rare among gaming handhelds, with it being done by the Legion GO, Steam Deck, and some GPD and Ayaneo devices. And if the ROG Ally X20 got a trackpad, it would struggle to fit all its buttons on without some compromises to feel.

At 756 grams, the X20 is certainly not a light device, but it is well balanced, and I've played it for hours at a time without fatigue. That's a feat, in my book.

Sound

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is a very quiet device. Not from the speakers, I should add; they can be cranked up quite high. Even at 35 W, the X20 fans never get loud enough to be annoying, but they are wonderfully tuned between 15-20 W. On just 16 volume, Cyberpunk's audio drowns out the fans on 25 W mode.

I wouldn't quite call them silent, but I found a PC across the other side of the room while idle produced a louder hum than the X20 playing Elden Ring. That's impressive, and it meant I never felt self-conscious bringing it out and about with me.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld

(Image credit: Future)

The X20 has two sets of speakers on the front, on the left and right-hand side of the screen, and they are decently tuned and I've never wished they could get louder. The device also has a jack at the top to plug in your headphones, and Bluetooth compatibility if you can stomach the latency most Bluetooth speakers will give you.

Thermals

Asus says the X20 is equipped with an "evolved ROG intelligent cooling system that drives air directly to the processor via a new internal channel and high-flow fans". In practice, that does indeed see it with cool thermals. I pushed the device to its limits at its 35 W Turbo mode, benchmarking all sorts of games for hours, and never saw it go above a CPU temperature of 79 °C. That is 17 entire °C below our tests for the standard Xbox Ally X.

I did also notice that the Max CPU package power was lower at 48 W, compared to the 55 W we saw last year. This suggests some software tweaks have led to more fine-tuned power management too.

Gaming test thermals

Recorded in HW Info whilst performing gaming benchmarks (35 W plugged in)

Thermal performance

Max CPU temp (°C)
Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Ally X
90
30
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
79
48
Lenovo Legion Go S
99.2
38
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)
75
20
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)
97
37
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro
92
30
0255075100
Thermal performance Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Ally X90 Max CPU temp (°C), 30 Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X2079 Max CPU temp (°C), 48 Max CPU package power (W)
Lenovo Legion Go S99.2 Max CPU temp (°C), 38 Max CPU package power (W)
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)75 Max CPU temp (°C), 20 Max CPU package power (W)
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)97 Max CPU temp (°C), 37 Max CPU package power (W)
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro92 Max CPU temp (°C), 30 Max CPU package power (W)

I could, of course, get the device hotter by setting a custom wattage mode where peaks are higher, but that's not how I would use this device. Long term, I would probably set a custom mode at around 20 W, with peaks up to 30 W (and I'd set the RAM allocation for the GPU up to 10 GB for playing more intensive games).

Even at its hottest, I almost never felt any of that heat in my palms as I was playing, and it's low enough I'd never worry about the device throttling either. That extra temperature headroom does mean setting manual clocks higher would worry me less too, which is pretty sweet. At 25 W playing intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077 (and too much Tales of Seikyu), I could barely get the CPU temp to crack 68 °C. Impressive.

Software

The Xbox mode works very well on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20. When you first boot it up, it moves into a stripped-back bit of software that simply allows you to open any of your games from within the Xbox UI. Not only does this give streamlined access to games and mean not having to deal with Windows 11, with its habit of booting up all your software when you turn it on, but it also means being able to skip the performance hit associated with it.

However, it's not an Xbox. You're still playing PC games on a PC device. If you boot up a Steam game from the Xbox app and haven't also booted up Steam, it will load that app first, then let you into your game. This is fine, but it's not flawless, and it's not like an Xbox. It's perhaps closer to booting into Steam Big Picture Mode. The Xbox library now pools together Steam, Epic etc, so you technically only need to boot up Windows when doing Windows-specific things.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld

(Image credit: Future)

It comes bundled with quite a bit of software, but for the ease of use of a gaming handheld, this makes a lot of sense. Armoury Crate SE allows you to tweak the device on the fly and get software updates; then it has the Xbox app (naturally enough). Being Windows, you do have the usual bloatware like Copilot (which I promptly removed), and you likely won't need to bother with Clipchamp either.

Battery Life

The X20 has the exact same size battery as the X. An 80 Wh battery is very solid in a gaming handheld, offering a decent sweet spot for capacity versus size and weight.

In PC Mark 10's gaming battery life test, I saw almost three hours at 17 W, with Windows in Balanced battery mode and 2 hours and 9 minutes on the beefy 25 W mode. It's important to note that this will effectively be how much gaming you will get done on a highly intensive game, so you can expect more than that if you're not pulling out Black Myth Wukong every time you bust out the Ally X20.

Gaming battery life

Recorded using PCMark 10's gaming battery life test (35 W plugged in)

Battery life | PCMark 10

Asus ROG Ally X
128
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
149
Lenovo Legion Go S
126
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)
308
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)
153
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro
82
0100200300400
Battery life (minutes)
Battery life | PCMark 10 Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Ally X128
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20149
Lenovo Legion Go S126
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)308
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)153
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro82

When I actually used the device day to day, I found a battery life I would be happy with. I remember taking it to a cafe at lunchtime and playing Graveyard Keeper till close (so just under five hours), and I still found the device with 40% charge. In indie games, the Ally X20 can get up to nine hours, which is solid given its performance.

Aesthetics

One of the biggest changes you will spot between the standard Asus Xbox ROG Ally X and Asus Xbox ROG Ally X20 (try and say that two times fast) is its aesthetic. Asus has given the new device a black and yellow look, with the RGB in the thumbsticks defaulting to yellow, the highlight being golden, and it being ever so slightly transparent. Held up in the light, you can make out some of the handheld's internals.

Other than that, and an LED in the Xbox button, it looks pretty much the same as the Ally X with its pretty Xbox-etched front, and surprisingly tasteful branding. Flip it over, and you see a gold commemorative ROG 20th anniversary plate on the back. This is the same plate you can spot in the Azoth Extreme Edition 20 and the Asus ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future

The new OLED screen goes up to a peak brightness of 1,400 nits, which is bright enough to even bring this bad boy outdoors, and with the Lenovo Legion Go 2's 8.8-inch OLED panel going up to 1,000 nits and the OneXPlayer 3's 8.8-inch AMOLED display going up to 1,100 nits (though these two go up to 144 Hz), I'd pick the Asus model out of the three. It's so bright, in fact, that I cranked the brightness just before playing Cyberpunk 2077 one night in bed and winced when I saw the sun. I wish I was joking.

It's a VRR display going from 30 to 120 Hz, which means the X20 is equipped to handle high and low frame rates with little stuttering. In practice, I found it to be super smooth, and naturally, gorgeous.

Value

So, the X20 version of this device is $300 more than the standard X one, and in return, you get an OLED screen, better thermals, a new look, and TMR thumbsticks. It is a luxurious device in a lot of ways, and has some smart design decisions, making for tame but welcome upgrades. These make the device better overall but worse for the money for the average person.

The chip, paired with 24 GB of LPDDR5X memory, makes it a formidable device capable of handling most games you can throw at it, but the pricing does make it stand out awkwardly in the market. For $300 less, you can get the same basic performance without those extras, and for $400 more, you can get the cream of the current crop. For us Brits, the Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM is a better pick for just £100 more.

As much as it pains me to say it, it's getting harder to find handheld gaming devices below $1,000. Even the 'cheapest' Steam Deck (512 GB with OLED screen) fetches $789 new, and its 2023 Zen 2/RDNA 2 chip wasn't exactly a powerhouse when it launched.

Last year, when I first saw the Xbox Ally X and its $1,000 price tag, I was surprised in a bad way, and yet the memory crisis has worsened to such a state that it now seems fairly reasonable. I don't see the same happening for the X20, but I can say that I've softened on it significantly since getting time with it every single day. Whether or not those extra upgrades are worth $300 will be largely dependent on your wallet and your eyes, but I can say I can see where that extra cost has been sunk straight back into the device. And for that, I'm impressed.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/asus-rog-xbox-ally-x20-review/ Rz8jSXD5t23gd4mRtMcCzS Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000 false false false

The Asus ROG 20th anniversary lineup has been interesting. Black, gold, and indulgent feels like the tagline here, with the Azoth Extreme Edition 20 and ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 containing actual gold, and a fitting price tag to boot.

For any criticisms I may have, I don't think you're paying primarily for the branding on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20, though. You get a new OLED screen which is bigger and brighter than the IPS panel in the standard Xbox Ally X, TMR thumbsticks, refined triggers, a new cooling system, and with that screen comes a snappy 0.2 ms response time.

Refined is a good word for the device as a whole. Coming a year later than the last model, the software is smooth and intuitive, and it's easy to swap between Xbox and Windows mode, though it still doesn't feel like a console in practice. For my money, it's the best ROG Ally on the market right now, but the memory crisis has skewed the price of all gaming gear, and the X20 is certainly not the best value as a result.

Buy if…

✅ You want a beefy OLED handheld: OLED handhelds are still fairly niche, and with recent price bumps, I'd pick this over the Legion Go 2 or OneXPlayer's offerings.

✅ You want power on the go: I'd suggest a significantly cheaper handheld if you are after low-intensity games and don't particularly care for big-budget ones. For your Cyberpunks and your Horizons, you will want a Z2 Extreme chip or better to play them at a decent resolution and settings.

Don't buy if…

❌ You're fine with IPS: $300 more for the X20 over the X is pretty steep, especially if you aren't dying to play on an OLED.

❌ You live in the UK: The pricing on the X20 is not as good value in Britain, with the superior G3-equipped MSI Claw being only £100 more (though no OLED) and the standard Xbox Ally X £400 less.

Features

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Ally X specs

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

Processor

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

CPU architecture

Zen 5 / Zen 5c

Zen 5 / Zen 5c

Core / threads

8 / 16

8 / 16

CPU boost clock

5 GHz

5 GHz

GPU architecture

RDNA 3.5

RDNA 3.5

Shader count

1024

1024

GPU boost clock

2.9 GHz

2.9 GHz

VRAM

8 GB (shared, adjustable)

8 GB (shared, adjustable)

Memory

24 GB LPDDR5X

24 GB LPDDR5X

Screen

7.4-inch OLED display

7-inch IPS LCD display

Resolution / refresh rate

1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz

1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz

Peak brightness

1400 nits

500 nits

Storage

1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

Thumbsticks

TMR

Magnetic

Connectivity

1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible

1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0

1x UHS-II microSD Express card reader

1x 3.5 mm combo jack

1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible

1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0

1x UHS-II microSD card reader

1x 3.5 mm combo jack

Dimensions

30.0 x 12.1 x 5.13 cm

29 x 12.1 x 5.07 cm

Battery

80 Wh

80 Wh

Weight

756 g

715 g

Price

$1,300 / £1300

$1,000/£900 (MSRP)

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 (or should I say XBOX) is a relatively granular update on the Xbox Ally X. I noticed it immediately when putting the two devices side by side, but when it comes to performance, you're getting identical experiences. They have the same chip, the same memory, the same storage. That's the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, 24 GB LPDDR5X, and 1 TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280, respectively.

Given you don't get a performance bump, you've gotta really care about the details to consider the X20. Arguably its biggest upgrade is the OLED panel, and it is a beauty. The DisplayHDR True Black 1400 certification isn't just for show, as it pops, appearing both bright and ultra-vibrant. It's also got a bigger screen, which does make the device more immersive, but also larger and chunkier.

You can technically upgrade the plain old joysticks in the ROG Xbox Ally X with a TMR module with a bit of know-how, but slapping in your own OLED screen would be very difficult, and I certainly wouldn't trust myself to do such fine electronic surgery. Therefore, I do see value in an upgraded, refined, and pretty older brother of last year's device. It's also got a whole new cooling system for frostier temps.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future

You also get smaller upgrades here, like the ability to pull up and turn the D-Pad to make the corner buttons more or less pronounced, plus greater grooves on the face buttons to stop jagged edges, and a combination of more clicky bumpers and smoother triggers. These all combine to make the X20 feel more thoughtful in approach, and given the price bump, it sort of has to do that.

The X20 doesn't come with a charger in the box, which makes sense from an e-waste point of view, but it does mean you will get lacking plugged-in performance without an appropriately speedy charger. For instance, I ran the device at 35 W mode and did some of my benchmarks before realising I wasn't getting the full-fat 35 W mode because my charger wasn't quick enough.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld

(Image credit: Future)

Could you say that's my fault for not seeing the low-power pop-up from Asus' software Armoury Crate? Absolutely. Does that mean you may need to pick up a quick charger if you want full-wattage plugged-in performance? Also, absolutely.

The box for the X20 also comes with a cardboard stand, which doesn't feel as luxurious as the device itself but is clean, effective, and environmentally conscious. It's a small but decent addition that I've been using consistently since unboxing the device without any problems.

Performance

There was a brief period when the original Asus ROG Xbox Ally X was the highest-performing gaming handheld money could buy. That was until the launch of the much more expensive MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (catchy name, I know) broke onto the scene.

Despite launching a year after the original Xbox Ally X, the X20 sees no difference in power (as it has identical specs), and therefore my performance figures are more or less the same as what Dave got in his review of the standard Xbox Ally X. I got a little less in Metro and a little more in Horizon and Cyberpunk 2077, with lower 1% lows in F1 25.

1080p gaming performance

In a handful of games, with upscaling on and off (35 W plugged in)

Avg FPS
1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Ally X
20
17
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
26
19
Lenovo Legion Go S
15
11
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)
24
20
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)
33
16
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro
22
16
010203040
Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium) Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Ally X20 Avg FPS, 17 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X2026 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S15 Avg FPS, 11 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)24 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)33 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro22 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS

I left the GPU memory budget at 8 GB, flicked the device onto its 35 W Turbo mode, and had a good time in F1 24, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Metro Exodus without any upscaling. Cyberpunk 2077 is borderline, sitting around the 40 fps mark, but I couldn't recommend Black Myth Wukong without a bit of upscaling or frame generation.

These are really respectable scores, and more than enough for handheld gaming right now. The AMD Z2 Extreme chip is still a great performer, and though it's not the top dog, it's certainly one of them. The actual top dog, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM and its Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, ekes out better performance with anywhere between a 20-40% performance uplift in our game testing, but it's also just under 40% more expensive in the US.

Productivity suite testing

Scores in major productivity suites and benchmarking tools (35 W plugged in)

Index score
GPU index score
CPU index score
Asus ROG Ally X
3395
3052
9381
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
4086
3771
9568
Lenovo Legion Go S
2244
2072
4246
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)
4890
4520
9141
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)
6499
6091
10487
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro
3690
3335
9333
03,7507,50011,25015,000
3DMark Time Spy Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Ally X3395 Index score, 3052 GPU index score, 9381 CPU index score
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X204086 Index score, 3771 GPU index score, 9568 CPU index score
Lenovo Legion Go S2244 Index score, 2072 GPU index score, 4246 CPU index score
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)4890 Index score, 4520 GPU index score, 9141 CPU index score
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)6499 Index score, 6091 GPU index score, 10487 CPU index score
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro3690 Index score, 3335 GPU index score, 9333 CPU index score

One thing I am impressed with is the same thing our Dave was impressed with: the ROG Ally X20 works an absolute treat pulled down to between 15 W and 20 W. It's a great way of preserving battery, keeping thermals frosty (though the X20 already rocks in that regard) and bringing down fan noise. When I'm looking to play Balatro, I bring that wattage way down and forget about it until the X20 dies half a day later. I swear I only planned on having one game.

Ergonomics

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future

The X20 is very likely the most comfortable handheld I've ever, well, hand…held. It has a slight cutout between the screen and the grips, which I often found myself sliding my index finger and pinky fingers under, and the new rubberised grips not only feel great but offer good enough traction that I'm never afraid of it slipping out of my hands.

It's so clear from the X20 that Microsoft know how to make controllers, as the buttons are fittingly clacky, the thumbsticks feel great, and the bumpers and triggers are easy to press down, with a comforting click to know I was successful. Well, as successful as I can be when I'm missing headshots.

I do really miss a trackpad, though. Windows 11 mode is fine enough, but feels like a slight downgrade without an intuitive way to control the mouse. My fat fingers struggle to click on the right thing sometimes, especially if it's a fairly small box, though the larger screen helps. You can control the mouse with the left analogue stick via Armoury Crate, but it doesn't beat the smoothness of a trackpad.

Still, trackpads are fairly rare among gaming handhelds, with it being done by the Legion GO, Steam Deck, and some GPD and Ayaneo devices. And if the ROG Ally X20 got a trackpad, it would struggle to fit all its buttons on without some compromises to feel.

At 756 grams, the X20 is certainly not a light device, but it is well balanced, and I've played it for hours at a time without fatigue. That's a feat, in my book.

Sound

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is a very quiet device. Not from the speakers, I should add; they can be cranked up quite high. Even at 35 W, the X20 fans never get loud enough to be annoying, but they are wonderfully tuned between 15-20 W. On just 16 volume, Cyberpunk's audio drowns out the fans on 25 W mode.

I wouldn't quite call them silent, but I found a PC across the other side of the room while idle produced a louder hum than the X20 playing Elden Ring. That's impressive, and it meant I never felt self-conscious bringing it out and about with me.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld

(Image credit: Future)

The X20 has two sets of speakers on the front, on the left and right-hand side of the screen, and they are decently tuned and I've never wished they could get louder. The device also has a jack at the top to plug in your headphones, and Bluetooth compatibility if you can stomach the latency most Bluetooth speakers will give you.

Thermals

Asus says the X20 is equipped with an "evolved ROG intelligent cooling system that drives air directly to the processor via a new internal channel and high-flow fans". In practice, that does indeed see it with cool thermals. I pushed the device to its limits at its 35 W Turbo mode, benchmarking all sorts of games for hours, and never saw it go above a CPU temperature of 79 °C. That is 17 entire °C below our tests for the standard Xbox Ally X.

I did also notice that the Max CPU package power was lower at 48 W, compared to the 55 W we saw last year. This suggests some software tweaks have led to more fine-tuned power management too.

Gaming test thermals

Recorded in HW Info whilst performing gaming benchmarks (35 W plugged in)

Thermal performance

Max CPU temp (°C)
Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Ally X
90
30
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
79
48
Lenovo Legion Go S
99.2
38
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)
75
20
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)
97
37
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro
92
30
0255075100
Thermal performance Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Ally X90 Max CPU temp (°C), 30 Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X2079 Max CPU temp (°C), 48 Max CPU package power (W)
Lenovo Legion Go S99.2 Max CPU temp (°C), 38 Max CPU package power (W)
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)75 Max CPU temp (°C), 20 Max CPU package power (W)
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)97 Max CPU temp (°C), 37 Max CPU package power (W)
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro92 Max CPU temp (°C), 30 Max CPU package power (W)

I could, of course, get the device hotter by setting a custom wattage mode where peaks are higher, but that's not how I would use this device. Long term, I would probably set a custom mode at around 20 W, with peaks up to 30 W (and I'd set the RAM allocation for the GPU up to 10 GB for playing more intensive games).

Even at its hottest, I almost never felt any of that heat in my palms as I was playing, and it's low enough I'd never worry about the device throttling either. That extra temperature headroom does mean setting manual clocks higher would worry me less too, which is pretty sweet. At 25 W playing intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077 (and too much Tales of Seikyu), I could barely get the CPU temp to crack 68 °C. Impressive.

Software

The Xbox mode works very well on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20. When you first boot it up, it moves into a stripped-back bit of software that simply allows you to open any of your games from within the Xbox UI. Not only does this give streamlined access to games and mean not having to deal with Windows 11, with its habit of booting up all your software when you turn it on, but it also means being able to skip the performance hit associated with it.

However, it's not an Xbox. You're still playing PC games on a PC device. If you boot up a Steam game from the Xbox app and haven't also booted up Steam, it will load that app first, then let you into your game. This is fine, but it's not flawless, and it's not like an Xbox. It's perhaps closer to booting into Steam Big Picture Mode. The Xbox library now pools together Steam, Epic etc, so you technically only need to boot up Windows when doing Windows-specific things.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld

(Image credit: Future)

It comes bundled with quite a bit of software, but for the ease of use of a gaming handheld, this makes a lot of sense. Armoury Crate SE allows you to tweak the device on the fly and get software updates; then it has the Xbox app (naturally enough). Being Windows, you do have the usual bloatware like Copilot (which I promptly removed), and you likely won't need to bother with Clipchamp either.

Battery Life

The X20 has the exact same size battery as the X. An 80 Wh battery is very solid in a gaming handheld, offering a decent sweet spot for capacity versus size and weight.

In PC Mark 10's gaming battery life test, I saw almost three hours at 17 W, with Windows in Balanced battery mode and 2 hours and 9 minutes on the beefy 25 W mode. It's important to note that this will effectively be how much gaming you will get done on a highly intensive game, so you can expect more than that if you're not pulling out Black Myth Wukong every time you bust out the Ally X20.

Gaming battery life

Recorded using PCMark 10's gaming battery life test (35 W plugged in)

Battery life | PCMark 10

Asus ROG Ally X
128
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
149
Lenovo Legion Go S
126
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)
308
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)
153
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro
82
0100200300400
Battery life (minutes)
Battery life | PCMark 10 Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Ally X128
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20149
Lenovo Legion Go S126
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)308
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (v1.0)153
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro82

When I actually used the device day to day, I found a battery life I would be happy with. I remember taking it to a cafe at lunchtime and playing Graveyard Keeper till close (so just under five hours), and I still found the device with 40% charge. In indie games, the Ally X20 can get up to nine hours, which is solid given its performance.

Aesthetics

One of the biggest changes you will spot between the standard Asus Xbox ROG Ally X and Asus Xbox ROG Ally X20 (try and say that two times fast) is its aesthetic. Asus has given the new device a black and yellow look, with the RGB in the thumbsticks defaulting to yellow, the highlight being golden, and it being ever so slightly transparent. Held up in the light, you can make out some of the handheld's internals.

Other than that, and an LED in the Xbox button, it looks pretty much the same as the Ally X with its pretty Xbox-etched front, and surprisingly tasteful branding. Flip it over, and you see a gold commemorative ROG 20th anniversary plate on the back. This is the same plate you can spot in the Azoth Extreme Edition 20 and the Asus ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future

The new OLED screen goes up to a peak brightness of 1,400 nits, which is bright enough to even bring this bad boy outdoors, and with the Lenovo Legion Go 2's 8.8-inch OLED panel going up to 1,000 nits and the OneXPlayer 3's 8.8-inch AMOLED display going up to 1,100 nits (though these two go up to 144 Hz), I'd pick the Asus model out of the three. It's so bright, in fact, that I cranked the brightness just before playing Cyberpunk 2077 one night in bed and winced when I saw the sun. I wish I was joking.

It's a VRR display going from 30 to 120 Hz, which means the X20 is equipped to handle high and low frame rates with little stuttering. In practice, I found it to be super smooth, and naturally, gorgeous.

Value

So, the X20 version of this device is $300 more than the standard X one, and in return, you get an OLED screen, better thermals, a new look, and TMR thumbsticks. It is a luxurious device in a lot of ways, and has some smart design decisions, making for tame but welcome upgrades. These make the device better overall but worse for the money for the average person.

The chip, paired with 24 GB of LPDDR5X memory, makes it a formidable device capable of handling most games you can throw at it, but the pricing does make it stand out awkwardly in the market. For $300 less, you can get the same basic performance without those extras, and for $400 more, you can get the cream of the current crop. For us Brits, the Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM is a better pick for just £100 more.

As much as it pains me to say it, it's getting harder to find handheld gaming devices below $1,000. Even the 'cheapest' Steam Deck (512 GB with OLED screen) fetches $789 new, and its 2023 Zen 2/RDNA 2 chip wasn't exactly a powerhouse when it launched.

Last year, when I first saw the Xbox Ally X and its $1,000 price tag, I was surprised in a bad way, and yet the memory crisis has worsened to such a state that it now seems fairly reasonable. I don't see the same happening for the X20, but I can say that I've softened on it significantly since getting time with it every single day. Whether or not those extra upgrades are worth $300 will be largely dependent on your wallet and your eyes, but I can say I can see where that extra cost has been sunk straight back into the device. And for that, I'm impressed.

]]> <![CDATA[ Xbox Ally X 20 vs Xbox Ally X: A wickedly bright OLED screen and frosty temps make for a begrudgingly attractive upgrade for the Asus handheld ]]> So, you've seen the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 in all its black and gold glory and wondered if it's worth paying $300 more for it. Well, the answer is 'it really depends on what kind of device you are looking for' and 'how much is a fresh OLED screen worth to you?'

Unlike the other ROG 20th anniversary edition bits of Asus gear, the X20 is not about superfluous add-ons (unless you pick up the bundle with XR glasses). You aren't getting a commemorative faceplate here, or extra stickers. You get an OLED screen, TMR thumbsticks, improved thermals, and MicroSD Express compatibility.

You also get Impulse triggers, which means they can rumble independently, and the D-Pad can be flicked around to make the corners more or less pronounced.

The screen is perhaps the biggest sell here, with its 1400 HDR-certified display going up to a peak brightness of 1,400 nits. As I found in my review, it's so sizzlingly bright at points that I looked at the sun in Cyberpunk 2077 while lying in bed one night and actually winced. Check out the full differences below.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Xbox Ally X

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

Processor

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

CPU architecture

Zen 5 / Zen 5c

Zen 5 / Zen 5c

Core / threads

8 / 16

8 / 16

CPU boost clock

5 GHz

5 GHz

GPU architecture

RDNA 3.5

RDNA 3.5

Shader count

1024

1024

GPU boost clock

2.9 GHz

2.9 GHz

VRAM

8 GB (shared, adjustable)

8 GB (shared, adjustable)

Memory

24 GB LPDDR5X

24 GB LPDDR5X

Screen

7.4-inch OLED display

7-inch IPS LCD display

Resolution / refresh rate

1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz

1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz

Peak brightness

1400 nits

500 nits

Storage

1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

Thumbsticks

TMR

Magnetic

Connectivity

1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible

1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0

1x UHS-II microSD Express card reader

1x 3.5 mm combo jack

1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible

1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0

1x UHS-II microSD card reader

1x 3.5 mm combo jack

Dimensions

30.0 x 12.1 x 5.13 cm

29 x 12.1 x 5.07 cm

Battery

80 Wh

80 Wh

Weight

756 g

715 g

Price

$1,300 / £1300

$1,000 / £900 (MSRP)

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Performance

Performance test

In a handful of games and productivity apps (35 W plugged in)

Index score
GPU index score
CPU index score
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X
4033
3663
9462
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
4086
3771
9568
02,5005,0007,50010,000
3DMark Time Spy Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X4033 Index score, 3663 GPU index score, 9462 CPU index score
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X204086 Index score, 3771 GPU index score, 9568 CPU index score

With both devices featuring the same chip and memory, you can expect more or less the same performance. In my testing, I got lower Metro performance and worse 1% lows in F1 25, but better performance in Horizon Zero Dawn, Cyberpunk 2077 and 3DMark, so the framerate differences overall just about balance out. I also noticed the X20 never went above 49 watts, which means I would feel more comfortable cranking up the wattage. It helps that its thermals are much improved.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Thermals

Gaming test thermals

Recorded in HW Info whilst performing gaming benchmarks (35 W plugged in)

Thermal performance

Max CPU temp (°C)
Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X
96
55
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
79
48
0255075100
Thermal performance Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X96 Max CPU temp (°C), 55 Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X2079 Max CPU temp (°C), 48 Max CPU package power (W)

The X20 comes with a refined new thermal cooling system, and it's more than just a marketing term. I recorded temps up to 17 °C cooler compared to the previous model, and even in long gaming sessions, I couldn't manage to push the system's temp above 80°C with its included wattage modes (between 17 W and 35 W). Importantly, I never felt that heat on my fingers as I played, making it a relatively frosty gaming device.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Battery life

Gaming battery life

Recorded using PCMark 10's gaming battery life test (25 W)

Battery life | PCMark 10

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X
125
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
149
037.575112.5150
Battery life (minutes)
Battery life | PCMark 10 Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X125
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20149

In stress testing gaming benchmarks, the X20 managed 2 hours and 9 minutes in the 25 W gaming mode, and almost 3 hours in the 17 W mode. Importantly, it can get up to 9 hours of indie gaming on the go, in my experience. The standard X model has the exact same size battery, so you can expect a similar battery life, though our testing saw it perform a little under the X20.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future

Though you're getting similar performance figures, the day-to-day use of the Ally X20 is superior from my experience. The screen is gorgeous and super bright, all the buttons feel superb under the fingers, it's super quiet (unless you want it to be loud), and it looks phenomenal.

As well as all of this, those frosty temps mean you can shove up the wattage if you want, or just have a ton of headroom to avoid throttling in the future. I would really struggle to want to spend over $1,000 on any gaming handheld right now, but if I were flush with cash, I would be majorly tempted to pop the X20 in my basket.

Should you upgrade to the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20?

If you already have the Xbox Ally X, I wouldn't recommend spending another $1,300 to get a better screen, thermals and TMR sticks (plus some little extras). If, however, you're deciding between the two, I can say that the new additions are very welcome and make for a refined, desirable device. If you've got the cash to splash, it's a sweet device. It's just a shame that the memory crisis has killed handheld market prices.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/xbox-ally-x-20-vs-xbox-ally-x-a-wickedly-bright-oled-screen-and-frosty-temps-make-for-a-begrudgingly-attractive-upgrade-for-the-asus-handheld/ 3fgf452ReAUkfhvUqtjo69 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:07:46 +0000 false false false

So, you've seen the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 in all its black and gold glory and wondered if it's worth paying $300 more for it. Well, the answer is 'it really depends on what kind of device you are looking for' and 'how much is a fresh OLED screen worth to you?'

Unlike the other ROG 20th anniversary edition bits of Asus gear, the X20 is not about superfluous add-ons (unless you pick up the bundle with XR glasses). You aren't getting a commemorative faceplate here, or extra stickers. You get an OLED screen, TMR thumbsticks, improved thermals, and MicroSD Express compatibility.

You also get Impulse triggers, which means they can rumble independently, and the D-Pad can be flicked around to make the corners more or less pronounced.

The screen is perhaps the biggest sell here, with its 1400 HDR-certified display going up to a peak brightness of 1,400 nits. As I found in my review, it's so sizzlingly bright at points that I looked at the sun in Cyberpunk 2077 while lying in bed one night and actually winced. Check out the full differences below.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Xbox Ally X

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

Processor

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme

CPU architecture

Zen 5 / Zen 5c

Zen 5 / Zen 5c

Core / threads

8 / 16

8 / 16

CPU boost clock

5 GHz

5 GHz

GPU architecture

RDNA 3.5

RDNA 3.5

Shader count

1024

1024

GPU boost clock

2.9 GHz

2.9 GHz

VRAM

8 GB (shared, adjustable)

8 GB (shared, adjustable)

Memory

24 GB LPDDR5X

24 GB LPDDR5X

Screen

7.4-inch OLED display

7-inch IPS LCD display

Resolution / refresh rate

1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz

1920 x 1080 / 120 Hz

Peak brightness

1400 nits

500 nits

Storage

1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD

Thumbsticks

TMR

Magnetic

Connectivity

1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible

1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0

1x UHS-II microSD Express card reader

1x 3.5 mm combo jack

1x USB4 Type-C with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0 / TB 4 compatible

1x USB 3.2 Gen with DP 2.1 / PD 3.0

1x UHS-II microSD card reader

1x 3.5 mm combo jack

Dimensions

30.0 x 12.1 x 5.13 cm

29 x 12.1 x 5.07 cm

Battery

80 Wh

80 Wh

Weight

756 g

715 g

Price

$1,300 / £1300

$1,000 / £900 (MSRP)

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Performance

Performance test

In a handful of games and productivity apps (35 W plugged in)

Index score
GPU index score
CPU index score
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X
4033
3663
9462
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
4086
3771
9568
02,5005,0007,50010,000
3DMark Time Spy Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X4033 Index score, 3663 GPU index score, 9462 CPU index score
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X204086 Index score, 3771 GPU index score, 9568 CPU index score

With both devices featuring the same chip and memory, you can expect more or less the same performance. In my testing, I got lower Metro performance and worse 1% lows in F1 25, but better performance in Horizon Zero Dawn, Cyberpunk 2077 and 3DMark, so the framerate differences overall just about balance out. I also noticed the X20 never went above 49 watts, which means I would feel more comfortable cranking up the wattage. It helps that its thermals are much improved.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Thermals

Gaming test thermals

Recorded in HW Info whilst performing gaming benchmarks (35 W plugged in)

Thermal performance

Max CPU temp (°C)
Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X
96
55
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
79
48
0255075100
Thermal performance Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X96 Max CPU temp (°C), 55 Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X2079 Max CPU temp (°C), 48 Max CPU package power (W)

The X20 comes with a refined new thermal cooling system, and it's more than just a marketing term. I recorded temps up to 17 °C cooler compared to the previous model, and even in long gaming sessions, I couldn't manage to push the system's temp above 80°C with its included wattage modes (between 17 W and 35 W). Importantly, I never felt that heat on my fingers as I played, making it a relatively frosty gaming device.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 vs Asus ROG Xbox Ally X: Battery life

Gaming battery life

Recorded using PCMark 10's gaming battery life test (25 W)

Battery life | PCMark 10

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X
125
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20
149
037.575112.5150
Battery life (minutes)
Battery life | PCMark 10 Data
ProductValue
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X125
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20149

In stress testing gaming benchmarks, the X20 managed 2 hours and 9 minutes in the 25 W gaming mode, and almost 3 hours in the 17 W mode. Importantly, it can get up to 9 hours of indie gaming on the go, in my experience. The standard X model has the exact same size battery, so you can expect a similar battery life, though our testing saw it perform a little under the X20.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 gaming handheld
Future

Though you're getting similar performance figures, the day-to-day use of the Ally X20 is superior from my experience. The screen is gorgeous and super bright, all the buttons feel superb under the fingers, it's super quiet (unless you want it to be loud), and it looks phenomenal.

As well as all of this, those frosty temps mean you can shove up the wattage if you want, or just have a ton of headroom to avoid throttling in the future. I would really struggle to want to spend over $1,000 on any gaming handheld right now, but if I were flush with cash, I would be majorly tempted to pop the X20 in my basket.

Should you upgrade to the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20?

If you already have the Xbox Ally X, I wouldn't recommend spending another $1,300 to get a better screen, thermals and TMR sticks (plus some little extras). If, however, you're deciding between the two, I can say that the new additions are very welcome and make for a refined, desirable device. If you've got the cash to splash, it's a sweet device. It's just a shame that the memory crisis has killed handheld market prices.

]]> <![CDATA[ Worldwide PC shipments have plummeted by over 20%, to the surprise of absolutely no one ]]> IDC Research has released its figures regarding worldwide PC shipments in the third quarter of 2026, and would you believe it, they've dropped considerably. Looking at the year-over-year numbers, the shipped units dropped from 78.5 million in Q3 2025, to 62.7 million in Q3 of this year. That's a 20.1% plummet, for percentage fans.

But why, I hear you asking. Actually, I don't. The memory and supply chain crisis, driven by AI server demand is pinpointed by the IDC as the primary driver of the decline, which will come as no surprise to those of us in non-rock-based abodes.

However, it's worth looking a bit deeper into exactly what's happened here. The "pull-in" of stock created by vendors buying up supply in the first half of this year (in anticipation of the forecasted price hikes) has essentially borrowed volume from the second half, according to the report. As a result, this boosted the early year shipments and "left Q3 starved of demand."

"The result is a broken seasonal pattern: the third quarter is normally larger than the second, and this year it fell short," says the IDC. It's bad out there folks—and this report predicts that things might get gloomier for the industry in the near future.

"Channel concern over high inventory and soft demand at elevated prices could bring promotions in the near term, but pricing will stay well above year-ago levels," the report continues. "The bigger risk is macro: conditions have worsened since last quarter, and a weaker economic backdrop could push demand lower and darken the outlook for the remainder of 2026 and into 2027"

A close-up photo of a set of Corsair DDR5 DIMMs installed in a motherboard, lit by their own RGB lights

(Image credit: Future)

I love writing good news stories. It's a shame I don't get a whole lot of them these days. My heart almost leapt when I read this quote from IDC research director Jitesh Ubrani: "Channels are now worried about carrying too much inventory into a market where high prices are suppressing demand. That could translate into promotions and some short-term relief for consumers..."

Then dropped again at the second half of the sentence: "... but we don’t expect pricing anywhere near what it was a year ago. Prices will remain elevated. With macro conditions worsening, the risk is that the outlook for the next few quarters gets worse before it gets better."

Anyway, the report also points out that this economic pain was not felt evenly, as Lenovo, HP, and Dell fell faster than the market and collectively lost 4.2 points of share, with HP being the hardest hit, dropping from 19.1% to 16.5%.

Lenovo is still the biggest shipper of PCs overall, though, and the three companies keep their same positions in the rankings as they did this time last year, with HP coming in second and Dell in third. In fourth position is Apple, which has also seen an 11.3% drop in growth, and in fifth place comes Asus, with its own growth figures dropping by 8.6%.

HP Omen 35L gaming PC

(Image credit: Future)

Well, I don't think any of us can say we're shocked to hear this news. With the crisis continually predicted to worsen from those in the know, (like Micron's CEO, who recently took the opportunity to ram that point home over and over again), it looks like PC pricing is screwed for a while to come yet. "Promotions are possible," the report handily sums up. "However, prices are expected to remain elevated and well above where they were at the same time last year."

In a totally unrelated question, did you buy a PC recently, and are you interested in letting it go for a reasonable sum? Asking for a friend. No pressure, take your time, I can wait here, etc, etc. Got any spare memory modules while we're at it?

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/worldwide-pc-shipments-have-plummeted-by-over-20-percent-to-the-surprise-of-absolutely-no-one/ 5Ew7zQRciLEKZ9R8Hg5nwk Fri, 09 Oct 2026 15:32:22 +0000 Fri, 09 Oct 2026 17:10:23 +0000 false false false

IDC Research has released its figures regarding worldwide PC shipments in the third quarter of 2026, and would you believe it, they've dropped considerably. Looking at the year-over-year numbers, the shipped units dropped from 78.5 million in Q3 2025, to 62.7 million in Q3 of this year. That's a 20.1% plummet, for percentage fans.

But why, I hear you asking. Actually, I don't. The memory and supply chain crisis, driven by AI server demand is pinpointed by the IDC as the primary driver of the decline, which will come as no surprise to those of us in non-rock-based abodes.

However, it's worth looking a bit deeper into exactly what's happened here. The "pull-in" of stock created by vendors buying up supply in the first half of this year (in anticipation of the forecasted price hikes) has essentially borrowed volume from the second half, according to the report. As a result, this boosted the early year shipments and "left Q3 starved of demand."

"The result is a broken seasonal pattern: the third quarter is normally larger than the second, and this year it fell short," says the IDC. It's bad out there folks—and this report predicts that things might get gloomier for the industry in the near future.

"Channel concern over high inventory and soft demand at elevated prices could bring promotions in the near term, but pricing will stay well above year-ago levels," the report continues. "The bigger risk is macro: conditions have worsened since last quarter, and a weaker economic backdrop could push demand lower and darken the outlook for the remainder of 2026 and into 2027"

A close-up photo of a set of Corsair DDR5 DIMMs installed in a motherboard, lit by their own RGB lights

(Image credit: Future)

I love writing good news stories. It's a shame I don't get a whole lot of them these days. My heart almost leapt when I read this quote from IDC research director Jitesh Ubrani: "Channels are now worried about carrying too much inventory into a market where high prices are suppressing demand. That could translate into promotions and some short-term relief for consumers..."

Then dropped again at the second half of the sentence: "... but we don’t expect pricing anywhere near what it was a year ago. Prices will remain elevated. With macro conditions worsening, the risk is that the outlook for the next few quarters gets worse before it gets better."

Anyway, the report also points out that this economic pain was not felt evenly, as Lenovo, HP, and Dell fell faster than the market and collectively lost 4.2 points of share, with HP being the hardest hit, dropping from 19.1% to 16.5%.

Lenovo is still the biggest shipper of PCs overall, though, and the three companies keep their same positions in the rankings as they did this time last year, with HP coming in second and Dell in third. In fourth position is Apple, which has also seen an 11.3% drop in growth, and in fifth place comes Asus, with its own growth figures dropping by 8.6%.

HP Omen 35L gaming PC

(Image credit: Future)

Well, I don't think any of us can say we're shocked to hear this news. With the crisis continually predicted to worsen from those in the know, (like Micron's CEO, who recently took the opportunity to ram that point home over and over again), it looks like PC pricing is screwed for a while to come yet. "Promotions are possible," the report handily sums up. "However, prices are expected to remain elevated and well above where they were at the same time last year."

In a totally unrelated question, did you buy a PC recently, and are you interested in letting it go for a reasonable sum? Asking for a friend. No pressure, take your time, I can wait here, etc, etc. Got any spare memory modules while we're at it?

]]> <![CDATA[ Valve is telling devs how well their games actually run on Steam Deck with real world data ]]> Have you ever clicked on a Steam Deck Verified game, attempted to boot it up, and realised it probably shouldn't have been verified? Well, Steam's new system should help developers give a more accurate understanding of how their games run on the Steam Deck.

As of October 1 (via TechPowerUp), Valve has given developers access to frame rate data as reported by Steam Deck users. A developer can see the frame rate that users are playing at as a percentage of sessions, meaning they can see if it runs well (at the Steam Deck's usual 60/90 fps cap) or not (users are generally lowering the fps limit).

That does mean it's only data willingly shared, and there are some caveats. The LCD Steam Deck has a max refresh rate of 60, while the OLED model goes up to 90. As games are often capped for fps to save resources, that will shape the stats somewhat. In addition, it can't guarantee how Steam Deck owners use their devices.

That being said, giving access to a high enough volume of data means that the fps averages should balance out in a bell curve, assuming enough players opt in. Valve claims "a majority of Steam Deck players have opted in".

The major benefit of this update is that developers can see how their games run on a mass of Steam Decks, and therefore adjust graphical options. This could be particularly valuable in games like Cyberpunk 2077 that have a dedicated Steam Deck mode. If developers notice those on handhelds aren't getting 60 fps or can't hit a smooth 30 average fps, they might tweak the settings a tad.

Steam Deck local file transfer

(Image credit: Future)

Valve has even explained that Steam Deck data is just a "starting point for iteration as we learn what sorts of data and presentation are useful."

That means, if successful, other devices could get the same data grouping. If enough Legion Go S users submit their data, or sales of the Steam Machine are high enough, it could get valuable data to developers.

This is, however, assuming that developers will tweak games for these devices. It only works for verified games, so it can't be used as part of the verification process as of right now.

Still, if mass reports of poor performance on Steam Deck start coming in for verified games, this means devs can really dig into the numbers to see what the average player is experiencing. Devs can then see in real time where updates positively or negatively impact performance. More data is always a good thing in my book.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/valve-is-telling-devs-how-well-their-games-actually-run-on-steam-deck-with-real-world-data/ BEWZWZgnZzJ8u9qxdPi7Hf Fri, 09 Oct 2026 15:26:22 +0000 Fri, 09 Oct 2026 17:10:23 +0000 false false false

Have you ever clicked on a Steam Deck Verified game, attempted to boot it up, and realised it probably shouldn't have been verified? Well, Steam's new system should help developers give a more accurate understanding of how their games run on the Steam Deck.

As of October 1 (via TechPowerUp), Valve has given developers access to frame rate data as reported by Steam Deck users. A developer can see the frame rate that users are playing at as a percentage of sessions, meaning they can see if it runs well (at the Steam Deck's usual 60/90 fps cap) or not (users are generally lowering the fps limit).

That does mean it's only data willingly shared, and there are some caveats. The LCD Steam Deck has a max refresh rate of 60, while the OLED model goes up to 90. As games are often capped for fps to save resources, that will shape the stats somewhat. In addition, it can't guarantee how Steam Deck owners use their devices.

That being said, giving access to a high enough volume of data means that the fps averages should balance out in a bell curve, assuming enough players opt in. Valve claims "a majority of Steam Deck players have opted in".

The major benefit of this update is that developers can see how their games run on a mass of Steam Decks, and therefore adjust graphical options. This could be particularly valuable in games like Cyberpunk 2077 that have a dedicated Steam Deck mode. If developers notice those on handhelds aren't getting 60 fps or can't hit a smooth 30 average fps, they might tweak the settings a tad.

Steam Deck local file transfer

(Image credit: Future)

Valve has even explained that Steam Deck data is just a "starting point for iteration as we learn what sorts of data and presentation are useful."

That means, if successful, other devices could get the same data grouping. If enough Legion Go S users submit their data, or sales of the Steam Machine are high enough, it could get valuable data to developers.

This is, however, assuming that developers will tweak games for these devices. It only works for verified games, so it can't be used as part of the verification process as of right now.

Still, if mass reports of poor performance on Steam Deck start coming in for verified games, this means devs can really dig into the numbers to see what the average player is experiencing. Devs can then see in real time where updates positively or negatively impact performance. More data is always a good thing in my book.

]]> <![CDATA[ All hail the long steam machine, Pimax's new SteamOS-ready mini PC ]]> You could say Pimax is copying Valve's homework with its new mini PC, the Spation. Though the Steam Machine is merely a black box, so you could say it also copied any number of other miscellaneous black rectangles itself; the Xbox Series X among them. Nevertheless, this is one similar-looking living room machine, and Pimax is even pitching it with SteamOS.

Pimax's machine is a mini PC with a whole bunch of power behind it. Pimax says it comes with either an RX 9070 XT or RTX 5070 Ti, and a Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

It packs in 32 GB of DDR5, a 1 TB SSD, and a 1000 W SFX PSU. It also supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and comes with 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB4, and 6x USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports.

So, it's much more capable than Valve's li'l box, though I shudder at the thought of the price. Pimax has not yet announced a price or launch date.

You can see how it all slots together under the removable rear panel in the render provided by Pimax below.

Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...

(Image credit: Pimax)

Most of the I/O is accessible at the back of the device. Slightly above and behind that is what looks to be a Mini-ITX motherboard with two DIMMs installed, presumably with some sort of solution to shift the rear I/O. Above that, the power supply, with a fan mounted above it. The GPU sits flat on the reverse of the unit, using a PCIe riser cable.

My only concern is how well that graphics card can breathe in there, and more broadly for temps, but there may be yet more fans within the unit. The front panel looks to be removeable—just like the Steam Machine—with some venting in there for the GPU.

Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...
Pimax
Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...
Pimax
Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...
Pimax
Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...
Pimax

It looks like a pretty smart layout, and not totally dissimilar to a Fractal Terra—the case I use for my own mini PC—sat upright. Pimax plans to offer a barebones kit that will require a user to install their own GPU, storage, and memory, which means at least parts of it are set to be pretty standardised.

The idea behind the Spation is to be more powerful than a gaming laptop to power high-end PC VR, in a smaller size than your average PC. Thereby easier to shift besides your TV unit for a spot of virtual reality in the evening. There is a bit of a gap in the market for this sorta thing—beyond simply building your own Mini-ITX gaming PC—as the real Steam Machine has been known to struggle with VR due to its Arch-based SteamOS.

Though that might also be the case for the Spation. Pimax is pitching it with both Windows and SteamOS support. It is just a regular PC, after all, so there's nothing stopping you from loading SteamOS onto anything with compatible hardware—namely AMD's gear, as Nvidia GPU support is an ongoing process in SteamOS. Which you choose should probably depend on whether you are planning to use it for VR or not. Even though the Steam Frame has shown what Linux can do in VR, and Pimax says it's bringing Pimax Play to Linux as a dedicated client, it does feel like Windows remains the easiest option.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/steam-machines/all-hail-the-long-steam-machine-pimaxs-new-steamos-ready-mini-pc/ mtuiyiGQGebG3G5bYjsasK Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:17:17 +0000 Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:11:42 +0000 false false false

You could say Pimax is copying Valve's homework with its new mini PC, the Spation. Though the Steam Machine is merely a black box, so you could say it also copied any number of other miscellaneous black rectangles itself; the Xbox Series X among them. Nevertheless, this is one similar-looking living room machine, and Pimax is even pitching it with SteamOS.

Pimax's machine is a mini PC with a whole bunch of power behind it. Pimax says it comes with either an RX 9070 XT or RTX 5070 Ti, and a Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

It packs in 32 GB of DDR5, a 1 TB SSD, and a 1000 W SFX PSU. It also supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and comes with 2x DisplayPort 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB4, and 6x USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports.

So, it's much more capable than Valve's li'l box, though I shudder at the thought of the price. Pimax has not yet announced a price or launch date.

You can see how it all slots together under the removable rear panel in the render provided by Pimax below.

Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...

(Image credit: Pimax)

Most of the I/O is accessible at the back of the device. Slightly above and behind that is what looks to be a Mini-ITX motherboard with two DIMMs installed, presumably with some sort of solution to shift the rear I/O. Above that, the power supply, with a fan mounted above it. The GPU sits flat on the reverse of the unit, using a PCIe riser cable.

My only concern is how well that graphics card can breathe in there, and more broadly for temps, but there may be yet more fans within the unit. The front panel looks to be removeable—just like the Steam Machine—with some venting in there for the GPU.

Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...
Pimax
Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...
Pimax
Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...
Pimax
Pimax's new mini PC looks pretty familiar...
Pimax

It looks like a pretty smart layout, and not totally dissimilar to a Fractal Terra—the case I use for my own mini PC—sat upright. Pimax plans to offer a barebones kit that will require a user to install their own GPU, storage, and memory, which means at least parts of it are set to be pretty standardised.

The idea behind the Spation is to be more powerful than a gaming laptop to power high-end PC VR, in a smaller size than your average PC. Thereby easier to shift besides your TV unit for a spot of virtual reality in the evening. There is a bit of a gap in the market for this sorta thing—beyond simply building your own Mini-ITX gaming PC—as the real Steam Machine has been known to struggle with VR due to its Arch-based SteamOS.

Though that might also be the case for the Spation. Pimax is pitching it with both Windows and SteamOS support. It is just a regular PC, after all, so there's nothing stopping you from loading SteamOS onto anything with compatible hardware—namely AMD's gear, as Nvidia GPU support is an ongoing process in SteamOS. Which you choose should probably depend on whether you are planning to use it for VR or not. Even though the Steam Frame has shown what Linux can do in VR, and Pimax says it's bringing Pimax Play to Linux as a dedicated client, it does feel like Windows remains the easiest option.

]]> <![CDATA[ Microsoft seems very excited about its new magnetic USB Type-C charger for the Surface Laptop Ultra, but it don't impress me much ]]> Microsoft has just unveiled what it's calling the "most powerful Surface devices ever." Both powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark SOC, the Surface Laptop Ultra and Surface RTX Spark Dev Box are both available to pre-order now. Both Surface devices are slated for an October 16 release, the same day as a suite of other RTX Spark laptops.

Like the rest of the fleet, these will cost a pretty penny too, with the Surface Laptop Ultra starting at $2,599 and the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box going for $5,999. However, the Surface Laptop Ultra comes with something the rest doesn't: 'Magnetic Connect,' a new magnetic USB Type-C charger.

The Corporate Vice President of Surface, Brett Ostrum, wrote, "The included charging cable attaches magnetically to the right-side USB-C port and releases easily. The port remains fully functional for video, data, and other USB-C devices."

According to Microsoft, the Magnetic Connect is a world first. However, in principle, it's very similar to Apple's MagSafe connectors. My snarkiness aside, it's worth mentioning that MagSafe uses a proprietary cable, whereas the Magnetic Connect does not, and that fits it a bit more cleanly into the 'world first' claim.

Interesting to note, too, is that the design of the Magnetic Connect may have been influenced by recent changes to EU regulations. New rules seek to stem the tide of charging cable-related e-waste by requiring "all new devices sold in the EU must now support USB-C charging." This regulation was introduced in 2024, and originally only applied to portable devices. But as of April this year, the EU common charger rules have been rolled out to laptops as well.

Still, it's a weird thing to highlight in the announcement for a very powerful, very expensive laptop—excuse me if I struggle to muster up a sufficient level of excitement for a charger that magnetically snaps to the side of my Surface device.

Obviously, as a PC gamer, I'm most interested in the apparently RTX 5070-like gaming performance of an RTX Spark machine. But gaming isn't the sole focus of this machine; for that money, it really needs to be all singing, all dancing, so Microsoft also highlights that the Surface Laptop Ultra can "run AI models exceeding 120B parameters locally, with up to 1 petaflop of AI performance."

At $2,599, it's a pricey bit of kit for sure and touting "the world’s first built-in magnetic USB-C charging on a laptop" does little to dull the sting of that price tag. Worse still, with 128 GB of unified memory inside this bad boy, there's no ignoring that the AI industry and the resulting memory crisis are perhaps one reason this Surface is as expensive as it is.

]]> https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/microsoft-seems-very-excited-about-its-new-magnetic-usb-type-c-charger-for-the-surface-laptop-ultra-but-it-dont-impress-me-much/ ddEr3G9WfDNhXW9yhQNtpm Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:13:03 +0000 false false false

Microsoft has just unveiled what it's calling the "most powerful Surface devices ever." Both powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark SOC, the Surface Laptop Ultra and Surface RTX Spark Dev Box are both available to pre-order now. Both Surface devices are slated for an October 16 release, the same day as a suite of other RTX Spark laptops.

Like the rest of the fleet, these will cost a pretty penny too, with the Surface Laptop Ultra starting at $2,599 and the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box going for $5,999. However, the Surface Laptop Ultra comes with something the rest doesn't: 'Magnetic Connect,' a new magnetic USB Type-C charger.

The Corporate Vice President of Surface, Brett Ostrum, wrote, "The included charging cable attaches magnetically to the right-side USB-C port and releases easily. The port remains fully functional for video, data, and other USB-C devices."

According to Microsoft, the Magnetic Connect is a world first. However, in principle, it's very similar to Apple's MagSafe connectors. My snarkiness aside, it's worth mentioning that MagSafe uses a proprietary cable, whereas the Magnetic Connect does not, and that fits it a bit more cleanly into the 'world first' claim.

Interesting to note, too, is that the design of the Magnetic Connect may have been influenced by recent changes to EU regulations. New rules seek to stem the tide of charging cable-related e-waste by requiring "all new devices sold in the EU must now support USB-C charging." This regulation was introduced in 2024, and originally only applied to portable devices. But as of April this year, the EU common charger rules have been rolled out to laptops as well.

Still, it's a weird thing to highlight in the announcement for a very powerful, very expensive laptop—excuse me if I struggle to muster up a sufficient level of excitement for a charger that magnetically snaps to the side of my Surface device.

Obviously, as a PC gamer, I'm most interested in the apparently RTX 5070-like gaming performance of an RTX Spark machine. But gaming isn't the sole focus of this machine; for that money, it really needs to be all singing, all dancing, so Microsoft also highlights that the Surface Laptop Ultra can "run AI models exceeding 120B parameters locally, with up to 1 petaflop of AI performance."

At $2,599, it's a pricey bit of kit for sure and touting "the world’s first built-in magnetic USB-C charging on a laptop" does little to dull the sting of that price tag. Worse still, with 128 GB of unified memory inside this bad boy, there's no ignoring that the AI industry and the resulting memory crisis are perhaps one reason this Surface is as expensive as it is.

]]> <![CDATA[ Now we know the prices of the new RTX Spark laptops and they're as expensive as I'm sure you feared ]]>
  • RTX Spark laptops will range from $2,600 all the way up to $7,000.
  • Pre-orders open now.
  • Release date is October 16, 2026.

    • It is the best of times, it is the worst of times to unveil a whole new line of agentic and local AI-focused laptops. The new RTX Spark laptop hardware is going into a slew of big name, big brand notebooks, with pre-orders opening up now and, with the level of unified memory necessarily inside them, the pricing is getting on for prohibitive.

    But it was always going to be that way. These are laptops built for AI processing and they need a ton of memory, and AI is the big thing right now so we need laptops that are designed from the ground up to run the best local models beautifully. But we're also at a point where AI is the big thing right now and that has sucked up all the available memory manufacturing making producing new PC hardware uncomfortably expensive.

    There's a certain ouroboros-like feeling around these new machines, where they're designed for a world that is specifically making systems like them harder to make and sell to normal humans without seven figure incomes.

    The new machines come with two flavours of Nvidia N1X processor; either the 20-core, 6144 CUDA core'd design, or the 18-core, 5120 CUDA core version. And with those Arm-based SoCs, sporting Nvidia GPU components, you're getting varying levels of un-upgradeable, soldered-on unified memory, from 24 GB all the way up to 128 GB.

    Microsoft Surface Ultra

    (Image credit: Microsoft)

    And, if we take the entry-level version of the new Microsoft Surface Ultra laptop as an example, that 24 GB config, with the 18-core N1X will run you about $2,600. With a 512 GB SSD inside it. That is a lot of money for an Arm-based laptop relying heavily on emulation—at least right now—with not a lot of internal hardware, especially when the noise around RTX Spark is about its utility as a local AI beast.

    24 GB of unified memory, shared therefore between CPU and GPU, doesn't feel like it's going to be able to get you access to the best local models, and that 512 GB SSD isn't going to be able to house too many of them, either. This is a slightly apples vs oranges comparison, I'll grant you, but a laptop with an RTX 5070 Ti and 16 GB of RAM is going to have a greater pool of memory to draw from, and you can pick one of those up for around $1,000 less than the cost of the cheapest Surface Ultra today.

    To be honest, I would find it really hard to make a case for the lowest-spec Sparks right now, even though I know local models are getting ever more efficient and capable within memory-restricted environments. But if I'm dropping serious money right now specifically on a laptop that's positioning itself as being designed for local AI compute, I want to know I've got a pool of memory that's going to be solid for its lifetime. And it needs to be because there is no upgrading that memory once you've configured your purchase.

    Those models might be getting more efficient, but I'm still going to want to be running as close to a frontier model as I can get on my local hardware, and that is always going to need a big pool of the memory good-stuff.

    Asus ProArt P16

    (Image credit: Asus)

    But that's not to say I would necessarily find it impossible to be positive about the pricier models. And they do get expensive. The fully kitted out Asus ProArt P16, with 128 GB unified memory and a 2 TB SSD will run you $7,000 😱 But the 64 GB version is a more reasonable $4,500 and you could have a whole lot of local AI-based fun with that bad boy. And the ProArt P16 is rather gorgeous, looking for all the world like a very serious Zephyrus G16. If you wanted the 64 GB Surface Ultra that comes in at $4,300, for comparison, too.

    That starts to feel a lot more reasonable—obviously within the context of this whole f'd up world of AI-generated PC hardware pricing—when you think about the fact a Blade 16 with an RTX 5080 and 64 GB RAM will set you back $4,700. Premium hardware is painfully expensive across the board.

    I will admit, though, I'm really excited about getting my hands on an RTX Spark laptop and giving it a run around the block. I know gaming is not the main focus, more a pleasing byproduct and definite boon for the AI builders to kick back with when they've hung up their agentic hat for the day. But we're expecting RTX 5070-level gaming performance out of these machines (they have more cores, but lower power budgets and more limited memory bandwidth owing to the unified LPDDR5x memory) with the expectation that will be the same case whether or not they're plugged into the wall for power.

    I've played games on them at shows, but I will be fascinated to see how things look when we throw the full PC Gamer benchmarking suite at one.

    Nvidia RTX Spark SoC in hand

    (Image credit: Future)

    That's intriguing all by itself, but I've also spent a lot of time over the past year messing around with local AI models and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens when I jam ComfyUI and Unsloth desktop on there, too.

    But pricing is obviously a pain point, as it is for any system right now, whether high-end or no, and these first-gen devices are going to be a tough sell to a wider audience rather than the already-invested AI builder crew. But this has the potential to be a big turning point for the industry.

    Not only do we have Microsoft entirely dropping the 'On Arm' suffix for its Arm-focused OS, and not only do we have a mainstream Arm SoC, but it's one that's also tied to a meaningfully powerful, effectively discrete GPU component.

    And not only that but Windows' new Hybrid Intelligence toggle has the potential to bring a whole lot of AI processing that was once shunted into the cloud—taking up datacenter capacity unnecessarily for drawing a flyer for your band or a kid's birthday party—and making it local without the end-user having to really think about it.

    That has the potential to ease the datacenter burden and maybe, just maybe ease some parts of the memory crisis itself. So, if you were trying to be positive, maybe this ouroboros could be about to spit out its own tail.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/now-we-know-the-prices-of-the-new-rtx-spark-laptops-and-theyre-as-expensive-as-im-sure-you-feared/ gf7VSFMk8qF7rz8jbcJMP9 Thu, 08 Oct 2026 02:42:32 +0000 Thu, 08 Oct 2026 02:42:37 +0000 false false false
    • RTX Spark laptops will range from $2,600 all the way up to $7,000.
    • Pre-orders open now.
    • Release date is October 16, 2026.

    It is the best of times, it is the worst of times to unveil a whole new line of agentic and local AI-focused laptops. The new RTX Spark laptop hardware is going into a slew of big name, big brand notebooks, with pre-orders opening up now and, with the level of unified memory necessarily inside them, the pricing is getting on for prohibitive.

    But it was always going to be that way. These are laptops built for AI processing and they need a ton of memory, and AI is the big thing right now so we need laptops that are designed from the ground up to run the best local models beautifully. But we're also at a point where AI is the big thing right now and that has sucked up all the available memory manufacturing making producing new PC hardware uncomfortably expensive.

    There's a certain ouroboros-like feeling around these new machines, where they're designed for a world that is specifically making systems like them harder to make and sell to normal humans without seven figure incomes.

    The new machines come with two flavours of Nvidia N1X processor; either the 20-core, 6144 CUDA core'd design, or the 18-core, 5120 CUDA core version. And with those Arm-based SoCs, sporting Nvidia GPU components, you're getting varying levels of un-upgradeable, soldered-on unified memory, from 24 GB all the way up to 128 GB.

    Microsoft Surface Ultra

    (Image credit: Microsoft)

    And, if we take the entry-level version of the new Microsoft Surface Ultra laptop as an example, that 24 GB config, with the 18-core N1X will run you about $2,600. With a 512 GB SSD inside it. That is a lot of money for an Arm-based laptop relying heavily on emulation—at least right now—with not a lot of internal hardware, especially when the noise around RTX Spark is about its utility as a local AI beast.

    24 GB of unified memory, shared therefore between CPU and GPU, doesn't feel like it's going to be able to get you access to the best local models, and that 512 GB SSD isn't going to be able to house too many of them, either. This is a slightly apples vs oranges comparison, I'll grant you, but a laptop with an RTX 5070 Ti and 16 GB of RAM is going to have a greater pool of memory to draw from, and you can pick one of those up for around $1,000 less than the cost of the cheapest Surface Ultra today.

    To be honest, I would find it really hard to make a case for the lowest-spec Sparks right now, even though I know local models are getting ever more efficient and capable within memory-restricted environments. But if I'm dropping serious money right now specifically on a laptop that's positioning itself as being designed for local AI compute, I want to know I've got a pool of memory that's going to be solid for its lifetime. And it needs to be because there is no upgrading that memory once you've configured your purchase.

    Those models might be getting more efficient, but I'm still going to want to be running as close to a frontier model as I can get on my local hardware, and that is always going to need a big pool of the memory good-stuff.

    Asus ProArt P16

    (Image credit: Asus)

    But that's not to say I would necessarily find it impossible to be positive about the pricier models. And they do get expensive. The fully kitted out Asus ProArt P16, with 128 GB unified memory and a 2 TB SSD will run you $7,000 😱 But the 64 GB version is a more reasonable $4,500 and you could have a whole lot of local AI-based fun with that bad boy. And the ProArt P16 is rather gorgeous, looking for all the world like a very serious Zephyrus G16. If you wanted the 64 GB Surface Ultra that comes in at $4,300, for comparison, too.

    That starts to feel a lot more reasonable—obviously within the context of this whole f'd up world of AI-generated PC hardware pricing—when you think about the fact a Blade 16 with an RTX 5080 and 64 GB RAM will set you back $4,700. Premium hardware is painfully expensive across the board.

    I will admit, though, I'm really excited about getting my hands on an RTX Spark laptop and giving it a run around the block. I know gaming is not the main focus, more a pleasing byproduct and definite boon for the AI builders to kick back with when they've hung up their agentic hat for the day. But we're expecting RTX 5070-level gaming performance out of these machines (they have more cores, but lower power budgets and more limited memory bandwidth owing to the unified LPDDR5x memory) with the expectation that will be the same case whether or not they're plugged into the wall for power.

    I've played games on them at shows, but I will be fascinated to see how things look when we throw the full PC Gamer benchmarking suite at one.

    Nvidia RTX Spark SoC in hand

    (Image credit: Future)

    That's intriguing all by itself, but I've also spent a lot of time over the past year messing around with local AI models and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens when I jam ComfyUI and Unsloth desktop on there, too.

    But pricing is obviously a pain point, as it is for any system right now, whether high-end or no, and these first-gen devices are going to be a tough sell to a wider audience rather than the already-invested AI builder crew. But this has the potential to be a big turning point for the industry.

    Not only do we have Microsoft entirely dropping the 'On Arm' suffix for its Arm-focused OS, and not only do we have a mainstream Arm SoC, but it's one that's also tied to a meaningfully powerful, effectively discrete GPU component.

    And not only that but Windows' new Hybrid Intelligence toggle has the potential to bring a whole lot of AI processing that was once shunted into the cloud—taking up datacenter capacity unnecessarily for drawing a flyer for your band or a kid's birthday party—and making it local without the end-user having to really think about it.

    That has the potential to ease the datacenter burden and maybe, just maybe ease some parts of the memory crisis itself. So, if you were trying to be positive, maybe this ouroboros could be about to spit out its own tail.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ AMD's new 'Gainsborough' APU rumoured to be the chip that powers the long-awaited Steam Deck 2 ]]> The original Steam Deck went on sale about four and a half years ago. And there hasn't been any clear indication that a true second-gen handheld from Valve is imminent. Until now, that is.

    YouTube channel Moore's Law is Dead has a new video explaining how a rumoured AMD APU known as Gainsborough is likely to be the chip that powers the next-gen Steam Deck 2 handheld.

    The MLID channel is admittedly not everyone's cup of tea, but has had some notable hits over the years when it comes to leaks and rumours. With that caveat covered off, what do we know about Gainsborough?

    First, the codename does actually make sense. The OG Deck's APU was known as Aerith, as in the character from Final Fantasy 7. And Aerith's second same is, of course, Gainsborough.

    In terms of the technicalities, there isn't a huge amount of information. However, one critical tidbit is that it will be built on TSMC's N3P node. That's TSMC's fanciest, most advanced and most efficient version of its N3 family of chip production nodes. That matters because it should make for a more efficient chip for a handheld where battery life is critical.

    The immediate question is whether this makes sense given what Valve has said about a next-gen Deck. Late last year, Valve explained how it wanted the Deck 2 to be a really major leap forward over the first-gen handheld, not just an incremental step.

    "We're not interested in getting to a point where it's 20 or 30 or even 50% more performance at the same battery life. We want something a little bit more demarcated than that," Steam Deck designer Pierre-Loup Griffais said at the time.

    With that in mind, you might wonder whether any TSMC N3 node is advanced enough. After all, Apple has just released its new A20 Pro and M6 chips on TSMC's latest N2 silicon. Could N3 actually be too old hat for the Deck 2?

    It's worth bearing in the mind that the OG Aerith chip for the Steam Deck was built on TSMC 7 nm silicon. That's two full node generations behind TSMC N3.

    As for the rest of the specs, MLID reckons Gainsborough will jump on the AMD Zen 6 and RDNA 5 bandwagons. Those are AMD's next-gen CPU and GPU architectures, respectively, and also the technologies expected to be used for both Microsoft and Sony's next-gen consoles. Oh, and AMD's next-gen PC hardware, of course, including a new generation of graphics cards that could begin to appear next year.

    One reference point here is the AMD "Canis" APU, which is the rumoured chip for the upcoming Sony PS6 handheld. That is said to pack four Zen 6c CPU cores, two Zen 6 low power cores cores, 16 RDNA 5 GPU CUs, plus a 192-bit memory bus. The Deck 2 could well sport a similar specification.

    Steam Deck with menu screen

    The OG Deck was released over four long years ago. (Image credit: Future)

    Aerith in the OG Deck (and indeed the slightly revised Sephiroth APU in the Steam Deck OLED) has eight RDNA 2-spec CUs. When you consider that RDNA 5 should deliver CUs that are significantly more performant than those in RDNA 2, then factor in a doubling of the CU count, plus no doubt higher clock speeds, well, you arrive at a mobile GPU that seems likely to deliver on Valve's demands for that true step change in performance.

    As for when any of this might translate into a Steam Deck 2 you can actually buy, MLID says the Gainsborough chip itself should be ready late next year or early 2028. We suspect Valve probably isn't in a major hurry, what with the ongoing AI-fuelled RAMpocalyse and the carnage that has already inflicted on its other recent hardware launches, most notably the Steam machine.

    In many ways, then, the later Valve launches the Deck 2 the better, at least in terms of giving the computer chip and memory markets a chance to recover from all the AI madness. But maybe late 2028 now looks like a reasonable expectation. Here's hoping it happens and if it does that memory prices have normalised by then.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/amds-new-gainsborough-apu-rumoured-to-be-the-chip-that-powers-the-long-awaited-steam-deck-2/ GjnMtLpJCBhZEm4mqYTVeU Thu, 01 Oct 2026 10:22:35 +0000 false false false

    The original Steam Deck went on sale about four and a half years ago. And there hasn't been any clear indication that a true second-gen handheld from Valve is imminent. Until now, that is.

    YouTube channel Moore's Law is Dead has a new video explaining how a rumoured AMD APU known as Gainsborough is likely to be the chip that powers the next-gen Steam Deck 2 handheld.

    The MLID channel is admittedly not everyone's cup of tea, but has had some notable hits over the years when it comes to leaks and rumours. With that caveat covered off, what do we know about Gainsborough?

    First, the codename does actually make sense. The OG Deck's APU was known as Aerith, as in the character from Final Fantasy 7. And Aerith's second same is, of course, Gainsborough.

    In terms of the technicalities, there isn't a huge amount of information. However, one critical tidbit is that it will be built on TSMC's N3P node. That's TSMC's fanciest, most advanced and most efficient version of its N3 family of chip production nodes. That matters because it should make for a more efficient chip for a handheld where battery life is critical.

    The immediate question is whether this makes sense given what Valve has said about a next-gen Deck. Late last year, Valve explained how it wanted the Deck 2 to be a really major leap forward over the first-gen handheld, not just an incremental step.

    "We're not interested in getting to a point where it's 20 or 30 or even 50% more performance at the same battery life. We want something a little bit more demarcated than that," Steam Deck designer Pierre-Loup Griffais said at the time.

    With that in mind, you might wonder whether any TSMC N3 node is advanced enough. After all, Apple has just released its new A20 Pro and M6 chips on TSMC's latest N2 silicon. Could N3 actually be too old hat for the Deck 2?

    It's worth bearing in the mind that the OG Aerith chip for the Steam Deck was built on TSMC 7 nm silicon. That's two full node generations behind TSMC N3.

    As for the rest of the specs, MLID reckons Gainsborough will jump on the AMD Zen 6 and RDNA 5 bandwagons. Those are AMD's next-gen CPU and GPU architectures, respectively, and also the technologies expected to be used for both Microsoft and Sony's next-gen consoles. Oh, and AMD's next-gen PC hardware, of course, including a new generation of graphics cards that could begin to appear next year.

    One reference point here is the AMD "Canis" APU, which is the rumoured chip for the upcoming Sony PS6 handheld. That is said to pack four Zen 6c CPU cores, two Zen 6 low power cores cores, 16 RDNA 5 GPU CUs, plus a 192-bit memory bus. The Deck 2 could well sport a similar specification.

    Steam Deck with menu screen

    The OG Deck was released over four long years ago. (Image credit: Future)

    Aerith in the OG Deck (and indeed the slightly revised Sephiroth APU in the Steam Deck OLED) has eight RDNA 2-spec CUs. When you consider that RDNA 5 should deliver CUs that are significantly more performant than those in RDNA 2, then factor in a doubling of the CU count, plus no doubt higher clock speeds, well, you arrive at a mobile GPU that seems likely to deliver on Valve's demands for that true step change in performance.

    As for when any of this might translate into a Steam Deck 2 you can actually buy, MLID says the Gainsborough chip itself should be ready late next year or early 2028. We suspect Valve probably isn't in a major hurry, what with the ongoing AI-fuelled RAMpocalyse and the carnage that has already inflicted on its other recent hardware launches, most notably the Steam machine.

    In many ways, then, the later Valve launches the Deck 2 the better, at least in terms of giving the computer chip and memory markets a chance to recover from all the AI madness. But maybe late 2028 now looks like a reasonable expectation. Here's hoping it happens and if it does that memory prices have normalised by then.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Can someone pinch me, I think I just found a decent gaming laptop deal for under AU$1,900 ]]>

    LOQ 15IRX10: was $2599 now $1879
    i7-13650HX | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD | RTX 5060

    This is a rare good deal on an RTX gaming lappy, especially when you look at the competition: it's AU$20 cheaper than what JB Hi-Fi is currently selling it for, but most other retailers don't get within spitting range (or at least, they do only with the 512GB model). This thing will play anything you throw at it, albeit not at high settings if it's very recent. It's a 15 incher with a 1080p panel and a 144Hz refresh rate, and our review was quite glowing.View Deal

    If you hit Amazon in October 2026 expecting to find an outstanding price on gaming laptops, RAM or SSD storage, you've probably just awakened from deep freeze. Or at least, that's what I thought before noticing this Lenovo LOQ laptop.

    It's currently going for AU$1,879, down from AU$2,599.

    Let's look at the specs:

    • An Intel Core i7-13650HX CPU (a good mid-range CPU but as Zac Storey mentioned recently, loud)
    • An Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU (obvs not a 5070, 5080, or a 5090, but perfect for a 1080p or 1440p gaming with recent blockbusters)
    • 16GB RAM (people thought this was getting to be not enough RAM before the RAM crisis kicked in; the RAM crisis has proven them wrong)
    • 1TB SSD (a good amount indeed, considering other retailers are selling similarly specced laptops with a 512GB SSD)
    • It has a 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate (which is well-suited to this config)

    Zac Storey reviewed the AMD version of this laptop. His sample had a 512GB SSD rather than a 1TB. Nevertheless, he gave it a solid 81 / 100. "It's so refreshing to be able to just game at your native resolution on a laptop at this price point, without having to worry about dialling the graphics preset down, or swapping around resolutions and getting stretched pixels or worse," he wrote.

    The only retailer coming within spitting distance of this price is JB Hi-Fi, who has it for AU$1,899. Granted, you'll need to be a Prime member to enjoy Amazon's AU$20 advantage, but signing up for that is free for the first month, and there's no shipping charges either. Meanwhile, The Good Guys is selling a lower specced version (512GB SSD, i5-13450HX CPU) for the same price as JB Hi-Fi.

    In other words, if you're looking for an entry level gaming laptop or, indeed, any kind of laptop, this is a steal at present.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/can-someone-pinch-me-i-think-i-just-found-a-decent-gaming-laptop-deal-for-under-au-usd1-900/ G7JdGZzUNAY8tnK2vXiuxc Thu, 01 Oct 2026 03:47:53 +0000 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 03:49:13 +0000 false false false

    LOQ 15IRX10: was $2599 now $1879
    i7-13650HX | 16GB RAM | 1TB SSD | RTX 5060

    This is a rare good deal on an RTX gaming lappy, especially when you look at the competition: it's AU$20 cheaper than what JB Hi-Fi is currently selling it for, but most other retailers don't get within spitting range (or at least, they do only with the 512GB model). This thing will play anything you throw at it, albeit not at high settings if it's very recent. It's a 15 incher with a 1080p panel and a 144Hz refresh rate, and our review was quite glowing.View Deal

    If you hit Amazon in October 2026 expecting to find an outstanding price on gaming laptops, RAM or SSD storage, you've probably just awakened from deep freeze. Or at least, that's what I thought before noticing this Lenovo LOQ laptop.

    It's currently going for AU$1,879, down from AU$2,599.

    Let's look at the specs:

    • An Intel Core i7-13650HX CPU (a good mid-range CPU but as Zac Storey mentioned recently, loud)
    • An Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU (obvs not a 5070, 5080, or a 5090, but perfect for a 1080p or 1440p gaming with recent blockbusters)
    • 16GB RAM (people thought this was getting to be not enough RAM before the RAM crisis kicked in; the RAM crisis has proven them wrong)
    • 1TB SSD (a good amount indeed, considering other retailers are selling similarly specced laptops with a 512GB SSD)
    • It has a 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate (which is well-suited to this config)

    Zac Storey reviewed the AMD version of this laptop. His sample had a 512GB SSD rather than a 1TB. Nevertheless, he gave it a solid 81 / 100. "It's so refreshing to be able to just game at your native resolution on a laptop at this price point, without having to worry about dialling the graphics preset down, or swapping around resolutions and getting stretched pixels or worse," he wrote.

    The only retailer coming within spitting distance of this price is JB Hi-Fi, who has it for AU$1,899. Granted, you'll need to be a Prime member to enjoy Amazon's AU$20 advantage, but signing up for that is free for the first month, and there's no shipping charges either. Meanwhile, The Good Guys is selling a lower specced version (512GB SSD, i5-13450HX CPU) for the same price as JB Hi-Fi.

    In other words, if you're looking for an entry level gaming laptop or, indeed, any kind of laptop, this is a steal at present.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop review ]]> The ask this month was a simple one. Take a trio of mid-range(ish) laptops, the Asus TUF Gaming A16, the Lenovo Legion 5, and the MSI Katana 15 HX. Benchmark the crap out of them, run them as a daily driver for a spell, research the bejesus out of them, and then see which one croaks under the pressure. A, dare I say, qualitative and quantitative group test of sorts, split across three separate reviews. Akin to the old printed tech mag days of yore.

    It's been fun, inciteful, and frustrating at times, and as this is the last review of the bunch, let me tell you, if this was Maximum PC or PC Format, it's here that I'd be waxing lyrical about how the winner of this month's arduous journey, is, without even a modicum of doubt, the Asus TUF Gaming A16.

    Truly, its implementation is a thing of beauty. It's an expertly balanced laptop that satisfies not only the needs of the professional, but that of the gamer as well. Its blend of hardware, style and pricing has put the TUF on the right path to claim its very own slot in our best gaming laptops buying guide, and with good reason.

    That's not to say it's perfect, I have my quibbles with it, don't get me wrong, but what Asus has managed to achieve here, on a budget is nigh impressive. The form factor, the design, the performance, the screen, the ports, all of it hits the marks that matter, and smooth over the wrinkles that the others introduce.

    It's a thing of beauty, again all for a price that slides under what you'd expect Asus would charge for something like this. If you're after a new laptop and find this thing on sale during Black Friday and the next few months, and it sits in your price bracket, I'd highly recommend it.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want a well rounded gaming laptop: Everything on the TUF A16 is remarkably well balanced, the hardware spec blended with that 1920x1200 screen is an absolute treat. If you want to game, or work on it, present or stream, you can do it all without fear.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You're looking at a futureproof purchase: Although it's good today, 16 GB of DDR5 and an RTX 5050 err on the conservative side. If you're looking to keep this running long into the future, frame rates may begin to stutter as you approach the three to four year mark.

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Features

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Processor

    AMD Ryzen 7 260 PNG

    Cores

    8


    Threads

    16


    Boost clock speed

    5.1 GHz


    Graphics

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 8 GB


    RAM

    16GB (2x8GB) DDR5-5600 MT/s


    Storage

    1 TB Sandisk WD PC SN5000S SDEQNSJ-1T00-1002 - PCIe 4.0


    Display

    16.1-inch IPS level


    Resolution

    1920 x 1200


    Refresh

    165 Hz


    Battery

    90 Whr


    Power brick

    240 W


    Weight

    2.2 kg


    Dimensions

    354.0 x 269.0 x 25.7 mm


    Price

    £1,260 / $1,550 (US model features 512GB SSD, higher res)

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Value

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future

    The top line specs here don't exactly shout "premium" from the rooftops, I get that. RTX 5050 and an AMD Ryzen 7 260 are hardly ground breaking, but it's how Asus has integrated the cooling and power delivery into this mixture that really breathes life into the thing. So many manufacturers skimp out on that latter part, and leave consumers with RTX 5070 and 5080s choked on low TGPs and it severely impacts market credibility. Asus has done the opposite here, and allowing that RTX 5050 to run at full tilt under a 115 W TGP delivers some exceptional performance without necessarily breaking the bank.

    The CPU ain't half bad either. Although like most of the laptops we have under review currently, it's a little long in the tooth, AMD's Ryzen 7 260, is an eight-core, 16-thread beastie, that produces some respectable numbers under load, all while keeping the heat down in the process.

    It also comes with 16 GB (2x 8GB) of DDR5 at a comfortable 5,600 MT/s. Although it's not exactly insanely high-end by modern standards it does mean you can swap that out at a later date with a higher capacity kit without much worry. And, for once, we're not looking at a single-channel memory setup that some manufacturers (ahem… Lenovo…) like to proclaim as "consumer friendly".

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    The rest of the spec list equally fails to disappoint. That RTX 5050's been matched with a 1920x1200 "IPS-level" 16-inch display fluttering along at a smooth 165 Hz, and it's a beaut too. Brightness is great, the colours really pop, and there's minimal ghosting or latency issues here as well. Is it as vibrant or as high refresh as an OLED model? Well, no, but for those after a versatile screen that gets the job done well, it's more than good enough. Pixel density too, isn't half bad either, just a fraction above that of a 32-inch 4K desktop panel, and the reduced pixel count significantly helps that RTX 5050 hold its own at native.

    On the connectivity front, aside from WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, the TUF also comes 3x USB Type-A, 2x USB Type-C, a 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI out, and full ethernet as well, along with a dedicated power port too. Oh and there's a 1080p webcam, but that's fairly standard affair at this point.

    The keyboard's not exactly anything to write home about, it's just a standard chiclet RGB affair, but it'll do, and the sizable trackpad lends itself well to light desktop work (I did once know a guy who used to raid in WoW Cataclysm with a trackpad, and it still makes me shudder to this day).

    All told, it's a reasonable spec. But in all honesty, while it is a well put together system, that $1,500 price tag is too much, and it's going to need some hefty discounting to make it a genuinely budget-friendly machine.

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Sound

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Let's talk audio quick before we get onto the good stuff (performance), because for once, I'm actually excited to talk about laptop speakers. Because these things absolutely slap.

    At max volume there's minimal distortion, and a healthy chunking of bass reverberating along underneath. Watching Sung Jin-woo slap the metaphorical crud out of Beru in Solo Levelling, as Howl plays in the background is as epic as it can ever be. Treble's smooth, mids are there too in abundance, and honestly I was genuinely impressed. In heavier bass moments in certain music genres there's fractional disturbance and vibration, but the moments are fleeting.

    Fan noise on the other hand is chonky. Not quite as potent as the Lenovo Legion 5, but notably sitting in between it and the MSI Katana (which is arguably too quiet, and hamstringing its own cooling as a result).

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Performance

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Okay, on to the good stuff, and there's an interesting tale here with performance. I've already alluded to it heavily with the MSI Katana 15 HX review, but its a tale of the plucky little RTX 5050 that could, that's what I'll say.

    1 / 4

    1080p gaming performance

    Running games at a normalised resolution to compare frame rates at the same level

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    31
    21
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    29
    15
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    32
    21
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26031 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX29 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX32 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS

    Let's just compare the top-line real quick. Because between this and the MSI, it's a real showcase as to what good cooling in laptops can do. So, Asus: RTX 5050, 115 W TGP. MSI: RTX 5060, 115 W TGP. Average GPU temp for Asus: 60; average GPU temp for MSI: 77. Average clock speed for Asus: 2,680 MHz at 75 W; MSI: 2,305 MHz at 68W.

    The reason that matters is that in every single benchmark I ran these two laptops at, both running at 1080p on Ultra, the Asus was either close, or significantly beat its red dragon shaped counterpart. It lost out in Metro Exodus by 6 fps, F1 by 6 fps, Cyberpunk by 1 fps, but beat it in Baldur's Gate 3 by 13 fps, and Black Myth Wukong by 2 fps.

    Creator and system performance

    Testing the non-gaming performance of the laptops.

    Compressing (GIPS)
    Decompressing (GIPS)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    82.31
    119.91
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    66.83
    113
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    100.46
    105.57
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26082.31 Compressing (GIPS), 119.91 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX66.83 Compressing (GIPS), 113 Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX100.46 Compressing (GIPS), 105.57 Decompressing (GIPS)

    CPU performance too demolished the Katana in multi-threaded Cinebench scoring 920 versus 832, and only coming second due to the Lenovo Legion 5's impressive 956 figure on that front. That further tells us that whatever MSI's doing in its cooling profile, it's not enough and its causing both its CPU and GPU to throttle. Just goes to show folks, you can have a shiny chip on paper that's theoretically better than the competition, but if it ain't cooled right, it's just a name.

    Overall, in isolation, the TUF does well across the board. Particularly when taking advantage of DLSS and frame-gen. 82 fps in Cyberpunk at Native, 66 fps in BG3, 68 in Black Myth Wukong, 116 in F1. All comfortable numbers and then some. Dial the settings in a bit more and you'll likely hit that sweet 165 fps spot too with a bit of effort.

    System performance

    Testing power and thermal performance of the laptops.

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    71
    87
    60
    85
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    76
    91
    81
    85
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    77
    95
    77
    82
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26071 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 60 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX76 Avg CPU (°C), 91 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX77 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 77 Avg GPU (°C), 82 Max GPU (°C)

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Aesthetics

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future

    From a visual perspective, the TUF A16 is positively dull. But it's a good thing. It's crisp, clean, squared off. There are no odd shapes, or weird bevels, or obscene logos and RGB littering everything. It's subdued, understated, a true sleeper machine. The only inkling it might even be slightly "gamery" comes in the form of the TUF logo and shield etched into the lid, and even then you can't really see it unless the light hits it just right.

    The bezels are thin, and it just looks and feels great, with a soft-touch satin finish. Like all of these laptops I've tested recently, it's a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but aside from that, there's little to complain about. Perhaps the keyboard could be a bit more mature, but it's nowhere near the Katana's level of "trust me bro, I'm a gamer".

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Software

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Armoury crate… eugh… I still don't like it. It's there, you can use it. It has profiles, for extra performance, or battery saving (all our results are based on the high-performance mode, which does add a significant performance boost to the overall figures), but it's clunky to install, and load, and about the only downside to this beautiful machine.

    As with all of these three laptops, there's pre-installed Mal… I mean aftermarket antivirus. Highly recommend you uninstall that pronto, and dodge the free trial expiry that comes along with it. Windows Defender will comfortably handle all of your AV needs.

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Battery life

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    As for the battery life it's one of the best I've seen at this price. 112 minutes puts the other two to shame, nearly doubling what the Lenovo Legion 5 managed. But then that's to be expected really, particularly given it's got a 90 WHr battery under the hood, and it charges rapidly too, with an included 240 W battery bank.

    Battery life

    Testing the long term gaming life of the laptops using the industry standard PCMark 10 gaming test.

    PCMark 10 Gaming test

    Asus TUF Gaming A16
    112
    Lenovo Legion 5
    64
    MSI Katana 15 HX
    71
    PCMark 10 Gaming test Data
    ProductValue
    Asus TUF Gaming A16112
    Lenovo Legion 564
    MSI Katana 15 HX71
    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/asus-tuf-gaming-a16-review/ BxT9rMKMZQgLJ5sL9x3VAJ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:21:13 +0000 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:21:17 +0000 false false false

    The ask this month was a simple one. Take a trio of mid-range(ish) laptops, the Asus TUF Gaming A16, the Lenovo Legion 5, and the MSI Katana 15 HX. Benchmark the crap out of them, run them as a daily driver for a spell, research the bejesus out of them, and then see which one croaks under the pressure. A, dare I say, qualitative and quantitative group test of sorts, split across three separate reviews. Akin to the old printed tech mag days of yore.

    It's been fun, inciteful, and frustrating at times, and as this is the last review of the bunch, let me tell you, if this was Maximum PC or PC Format, it's here that I'd be waxing lyrical about how the winner of this month's arduous journey, is, without even a modicum of doubt, the Asus TUF Gaming A16.

    Truly, its implementation is a thing of beauty. It's an expertly balanced laptop that satisfies not only the needs of the professional, but that of the gamer as well. Its blend of hardware, style and pricing has put the TUF on the right path to claim its very own slot in our best gaming laptops buying guide, and with good reason.

    That's not to say it's perfect, I have my quibbles with it, don't get me wrong, but what Asus has managed to achieve here, on a budget is nigh impressive. The form factor, the design, the performance, the screen, the ports, all of it hits the marks that matter, and smooth over the wrinkles that the others introduce.

    It's a thing of beauty, again all for a price that slides under what you'd expect Asus would charge for something like this. If you're after a new laptop and find this thing on sale during Black Friday and the next few months, and it sits in your price bracket, I'd highly recommend it.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want a well rounded gaming laptop: Everything on the TUF A16 is remarkably well balanced, the hardware spec blended with that 1920x1200 screen is an absolute treat. If you want to game, or work on it, present or stream, you can do it all without fear.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You're looking at a futureproof purchase: Although it's good today, 16 GB of DDR5 and an RTX 5050 err on the conservative side. If you're looking to keep this running long into the future, frame rates may begin to stutter as you approach the three to four year mark.

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Features

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Processor

    AMD Ryzen 7 260 PNG

    Cores

    8


    Threads

    16


    Boost clock speed

    5.1 GHz


    Graphics

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 8 GB


    RAM

    16GB (2x8GB) DDR5-5600 MT/s


    Storage

    1 TB Sandisk WD PC SN5000S SDEQNSJ-1T00-1002 - PCIe 4.0


    Display

    16.1-inch IPS level


    Resolution

    1920 x 1200


    Refresh

    165 Hz


    Battery

    90 Whr


    Power brick

    240 W


    Weight

    2.2 kg


    Dimensions

    354.0 x 269.0 x 25.7 mm


    Price

    £1,260 / $1,550 (US model features 512GB SSD, higher res)

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Value

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future

    The top line specs here don't exactly shout "premium" from the rooftops, I get that. RTX 5050 and an AMD Ryzen 7 260 are hardly ground breaking, but it's how Asus has integrated the cooling and power delivery into this mixture that really breathes life into the thing. So many manufacturers skimp out on that latter part, and leave consumers with RTX 5070 and 5080s choked on low TGPs and it severely impacts market credibility. Asus has done the opposite here, and allowing that RTX 5050 to run at full tilt under a 115 W TGP delivers some exceptional performance without necessarily breaking the bank.

    The CPU ain't half bad either. Although like most of the laptops we have under review currently, it's a little long in the tooth, AMD's Ryzen 7 260, is an eight-core, 16-thread beastie, that produces some respectable numbers under load, all while keeping the heat down in the process.

    It also comes with 16 GB (2x 8GB) of DDR5 at a comfortable 5,600 MT/s. Although it's not exactly insanely high-end by modern standards it does mean you can swap that out at a later date with a higher capacity kit without much worry. And, for once, we're not looking at a single-channel memory setup that some manufacturers (ahem… Lenovo…) like to proclaim as "consumer friendly".

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    The rest of the spec list equally fails to disappoint. That RTX 5050's been matched with a 1920x1200 "IPS-level" 16-inch display fluttering along at a smooth 165 Hz, and it's a beaut too. Brightness is great, the colours really pop, and there's minimal ghosting or latency issues here as well. Is it as vibrant or as high refresh as an OLED model? Well, no, but for those after a versatile screen that gets the job done well, it's more than good enough. Pixel density too, isn't half bad either, just a fraction above that of a 32-inch 4K desktop panel, and the reduced pixel count significantly helps that RTX 5050 hold its own at native.

    On the connectivity front, aside from WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, the TUF also comes 3x USB Type-A, 2x USB Type-C, a 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI out, and full ethernet as well, along with a dedicated power port too. Oh and there's a 1080p webcam, but that's fairly standard affair at this point.

    The keyboard's not exactly anything to write home about, it's just a standard chiclet RGB affair, but it'll do, and the sizable trackpad lends itself well to light desktop work (I did once know a guy who used to raid in WoW Cataclysm with a trackpad, and it still makes me shudder to this day).

    All told, it's a reasonable spec. But in all honesty, while it is a well put together system, that $1,500 price tag is too much, and it's going to need some hefty discounting to make it a genuinely budget-friendly machine.

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Sound

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Let's talk audio quick before we get onto the good stuff (performance), because for once, I'm actually excited to talk about laptop speakers. Because these things absolutely slap.

    At max volume there's minimal distortion, and a healthy chunking of bass reverberating along underneath. Watching Sung Jin-woo slap the metaphorical crud out of Beru in Solo Levelling, as Howl plays in the background is as epic as it can ever be. Treble's smooth, mids are there too in abundance, and honestly I was genuinely impressed. In heavier bass moments in certain music genres there's fractional disturbance and vibration, but the moments are fleeting.

    Fan noise on the other hand is chonky. Not quite as potent as the Lenovo Legion 5, but notably sitting in between it and the MSI Katana (which is arguably too quiet, and hamstringing its own cooling as a result).

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Performance

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Okay, on to the good stuff, and there's an interesting tale here with performance. I've already alluded to it heavily with the MSI Katana 15 HX review, but its a tale of the plucky little RTX 5050 that could, that's what I'll say.

    1 / 4

    1080p gaming performance

    Running games at a normalised resolution to compare frame rates at the same level

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    31
    21
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    29
    15
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    32
    21
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26031 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX29 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX32 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS

    Let's just compare the top-line real quick. Because between this and the MSI, it's a real showcase as to what good cooling in laptops can do. So, Asus: RTX 5050, 115 W TGP. MSI: RTX 5060, 115 W TGP. Average GPU temp for Asus: 60; average GPU temp for MSI: 77. Average clock speed for Asus: 2,680 MHz at 75 W; MSI: 2,305 MHz at 68W.

    The reason that matters is that in every single benchmark I ran these two laptops at, both running at 1080p on Ultra, the Asus was either close, or significantly beat its red dragon shaped counterpart. It lost out in Metro Exodus by 6 fps, F1 by 6 fps, Cyberpunk by 1 fps, but beat it in Baldur's Gate 3 by 13 fps, and Black Myth Wukong by 2 fps.

    Creator and system performance

    Testing the non-gaming performance of the laptops.

    Compressing (GIPS)
    Decompressing (GIPS)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    82.31
    119.91
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    66.83
    113
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    100.46
    105.57
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26082.31 Compressing (GIPS), 119.91 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX66.83 Compressing (GIPS), 113 Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX100.46 Compressing (GIPS), 105.57 Decompressing (GIPS)

    CPU performance too demolished the Katana in multi-threaded Cinebench scoring 920 versus 832, and only coming second due to the Lenovo Legion 5's impressive 956 figure on that front. That further tells us that whatever MSI's doing in its cooling profile, it's not enough and its causing both its CPU and GPU to throttle. Just goes to show folks, you can have a shiny chip on paper that's theoretically better than the competition, but if it ain't cooled right, it's just a name.

    Overall, in isolation, the TUF does well across the board. Particularly when taking advantage of DLSS and frame-gen. 82 fps in Cyberpunk at Native, 66 fps in BG3, 68 in Black Myth Wukong, 116 in F1. All comfortable numbers and then some. Dial the settings in a bit more and you'll likely hit that sweet 165 fps spot too with a bit of effort.

    System performance

    Testing power and thermal performance of the laptops.

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    71
    87
    60
    85
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    76
    91
    81
    85
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    77
    95
    77
    82
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26071 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 60 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX76 Avg CPU (°C), 91 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX77 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 77 Avg GPU (°C), 82 Max GPU (°C)

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Aesthetics

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop
    Future

    From a visual perspective, the TUF A16 is positively dull. But it's a good thing. It's crisp, clean, squared off. There are no odd shapes, or weird bevels, or obscene logos and RGB littering everything. It's subdued, understated, a true sleeper machine. The only inkling it might even be slightly "gamery" comes in the form of the TUF logo and shield etched into the lid, and even then you can't really see it unless the light hits it just right.

    The bezels are thin, and it just looks and feels great, with a soft-touch satin finish. Like all of these laptops I've tested recently, it's a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but aside from that, there's little to complain about. Perhaps the keyboard could be a bit more mature, but it's nowhere near the Katana's level of "trust me bro, I'm a gamer".

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Software

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Armoury crate… eugh… I still don't like it. It's there, you can use it. It has profiles, for extra performance, or battery saving (all our results are based on the high-performance mode, which does add a significant performance boost to the overall figures), but it's clunky to install, and load, and about the only downside to this beautiful machine.

    As with all of these three laptops, there's pre-installed Mal… I mean aftermarket antivirus. Highly recommend you uninstall that pronto, and dodge the free trial expiry that comes along with it. Windows Defender will comfortably handle all of your AV needs.

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 - Battery life

    Asus TUF Gaming A16 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    As for the battery life it's one of the best I've seen at this price. 112 minutes puts the other two to shame, nearly doubling what the Lenovo Legion 5 managed. But then that's to be expected really, particularly given it's got a 90 WHr battery under the hood, and it charges rapidly too, with an included 240 W battery bank.

    Battery life

    Testing the long term gaming life of the laptops using the industry standard PCMark 10 gaming test.

    PCMark 10 Gaming test

    Asus TUF Gaming A16
    112
    Lenovo Legion 5
    64
    MSI Katana 15 HX
    71
    PCMark 10 Gaming test Data
    ProductValue
    Asus TUF Gaming A16112
    Lenovo Legion 564
    MSI Katana 15 HX71
    ]]>     <![CDATA[ MSI Katana 15 HX B14W gaming laptop review ]]> "A union divided cannot stand," reads a famous quote from a famous man. But only now can we finally know why Abraham Lincoln said what he said. There's no shadow of a doubt in my mind he was (in this journalist's opinion), predicting the rise and fall of MSI's Katana 15 HX B14W 2026 edition. Clearly irate with the apparent division it has between its US and UK pricing. This thing is, no word of a lie, $500 more expensive in the US, and that's even before we add sales tax into the equation. Best gaming laptop? Not in the land of the free, that's for damn sure.

    In ol' blighty, in the realm of the surprisingly good cooking and cheap dental care, it's a whole other story. What you get for a meagre £1,300 first looks quite solid. And although, yes, that's probably three days of heating this coming winter, if you forgo the soothing warmth of your radiators for a bit you can net yourself an RTX 5060, Core i7 14650HX, and 16 GB of (gloriously dual-channel) 5,600 MT/s DDR5 RAM, all paired nicely with a crisp 2560x1440 "IPS-level" display flickering along 165 times every single second.

    For that outlay, I wouldn't blame you in thinking that this is a surprisingly tempting proposition, especially as Black Friday is right around the corner. But it's not without fault, and there's some curious side-effects as a result of the cooling design, that you need to be aware of before you pull the trigger and tell grandma to grab another coat to keep warm.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You're after a cheap UK deal for a versatile laptop: It's not the ultimate gaming machine, no, but MSI's packed a lot of solid quality hardware in here, and for just shy of £1,300 it does beat out the competition spec for spec.

    ✅ You're a big fan of DLSS: That RTX 5060 does lead the field when it comes to ray tracing performance compared to its competition at a similar price point.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You're not a fan of the "gamer" aesthetic: It's big bold and ostentatious, with a hexagonal screen bezel, and overall body design. Everywhere you look, it clearly states itself as "for the gamer", so if you're taking this into a business meeting, look away.

    ❌ You want a CPU and GPU combo that's fully unlocked: The Katana 15 HX technically has a 115 W TGP, but it often taps out at half that, with flailing clock-speeds as a result, we suspect due to CPU bottlenecking.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Features

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future
    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future

    Processor

    Intel Core i7 14650HX PNG

    Cores

    8 Performance, 8 Efficient


    Threads

    24


    Boost clock speed

    5.2 GHz


    Graphics

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB


    RAM

    16 GB (2x8GB) DDR5-5600 MT/s


    Storage

    1 TB Samsung MZVL81T0HFLB-00BTW PCIe 4.0


    Display

    15.6-inch "IPS-Level"


    Resolution

    2560 x 1440


    Refresh

    165 Hz


    Battery

    75 Whr


    Power brick

    240 W


    Weight

    2.4 kg


    Dimensions

    359 x 262 x 25.5 mm


    Price

    £1,299 / $1,799

    So, we've covered the basics already, chunky GPU that kinda pairs nicely with the 2560 x 1440 "IPS-level" display, 115 W TGP which should give the card a bit of leg room to clock-up nice and high. Should. You get WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth as standard. As well as three USB Type-A ports, a USB-C, Ethernet, 3.5 mm audio, and HDMI out too. That's not a huge amount of connectivity; you may need a USB hub or dongle if you're going to spin this up as your main rig with a few extra periphs, but it's a comfortable enough experience if you're on the move, and I've seen worse recently. Razer's Blade 16, doesn't even come with ethernet and that thing costs a staggering five grand or thereabouts (although to be fair it is very good).

    The SSD is a bit underwhelming mind you. It's one of Samsung's… well, I'm not going to reel off the serial code because it's one of those cryptic OEM-only designations that makes no sense to any human that reads it, but in short its an OEM PM9C1b, PCIe 4.0 SSD, that should top out at 7 GB/s on the read and 5.7 GB/s on the writes. It's based on Samsung's in-house Piccolo controller, and taps into 236-layer TLC V-NAND, it's not too dissimilar to the 990 Evo Samsung launched a couple of years back at this point. So y'know, eh…

    As for the chip, that's Intel's Raptor Lake Core i7 14650HX. Again a little dated, but you do get eight performance cores and eight efficient cores for fully 24 threads, and a max turbo clock speed of 5.2 GHz at full tilt. But it's hot, real hot, and that is I think the biggest issue that the B14W currently has. Certainly if we compare it to something like Asus' TUF Gaming A16.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Value

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Alright, yep let's talk value. Ahem... It's a bit of a double-edged sword. Something that ironically a traditional Katana isn't, and it's mostly dependent on which part of the globe you sit. If you're in the US $1,800 for this kit-out is absurd. Particularly when you have laptops like the Lenovo Legion 5 available for a near identical spec, but with a far better OLED screen for less than that.

    And it's that screen that really lets down the whole affair. MSI has it listed as "IPS-level", and to be frank, it doesn't look anything like an IPS. I've got it sat next to two separate IPS monitors right now, and the brightness is dull, the contrast underwhelming, and the color difference between the three genuinely astounding. If you'd have told me this was a TN panel, I'd believe you, and even then go "man, it's a bit rough by modern TN standards, aint it?" Like yes, it's great it's got that 165 Hz refresh rate, and a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a pixel density that puts 4K 32-inch monitors to shame, but it just absolutely pulls you out of the immersion when you see just how dull it looks by comparison to most modern offerings.

    That's almost excusable at the £1200 - £1300 mark, and unconscionable at $1,800 (I have seen this cheaper during my time testing, but let's not assume it's always on offer). Even so, it just leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth, particularly when compared to that A16, or the Lenovo Legion 5.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Sound

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    I'll talk more about this momentarily, but the fans are not particularly that noisy under load. They are spinning and going at what I assume is full-tilt, but compared to the likes of the Lenovo, it's a whole other ball game. Dare I say, you don't need a set of noise cancelling headphones to drown out the sound of this thing.

    As for the speakers, they're ok. Bass is a bit muted, there's not a lot of breadth to the soundscape (perhaps unsurprising given the form factor), but clarity is up there, and there's no tinniness in the upper trebles. If you're listening to Blood in the Bayou by River Lume and Spearfisher, you can hear every single note of the banjo as clear as day. Yes it does lack the warmth and thrum you'd expect from a full setup, but again, it's two tiny tweeters.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Performance

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Things don't fair particularly better in the performance department either. Although yes it does have a dual-channel RAM setup (thank god, because I don't think I could cope if it didn't), CPU performance is woefully under par compared to even the Core i7 13650HX in the Legion 5, and in-game things get considerably less impressive, even though it has that 115W TGP.

    1 / 4

    1080p gaming performance

    Running games at a normalised resolution to compare frame rates at the same level

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    32
    21
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    29
    15
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    31
    21
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX32 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX29 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26031 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS

    Take it into Cyberpunk 2077, at 1080p with ray tracing dialed up to Ultra, and it runs only a single frame per second faster than the TUF Gaming A16. Which would be fine, if it wasn't for the fact that laptop's running an RTX 5050, not the more powerful RTX 5060. In fact the Katana behaves almost as badly as Lenovo's memory starved RTX 5060 does.

    Things do improve when you turn the DLSS fun times on of course, and at the screen's native res. we saw exactly that, with the frame rate shooting up from 20 fps to 64 fps. But then logically that makes sense as we're shifting more of the load away from the CPU and onto the GPU with those interpolated frames.

    And it's definitely the CPU that's the crux of the issue here too. Jump into Baldur's Gate 3, and there's an even larger discrepancy between it and the TUF. At 1080p again, the MSI managed just 50 fps, versus that plucky little RTX 5050's 63 fps. In fact you can go down the entire list of benchmarks, and at every single 1080p level, the Asus TUF Gaming A16 is either close, or beating it. For a lower model GPU, and a card that scores lower in every synthetic test we can run. It's astounding.

    Creator and system performance

    Testing the non-gaming performance of the laptops.

    Compressing (GIPS)
    Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    100.46
    105.57
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    66.83
    113
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    82.31
    119.91
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX100.46 Compressing (GIPS), 105.57 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX66.83 Compressing (GIPS), 113 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26082.31 Compressing (GIPS), 119.91 Decompressing (GIPS)

    That hypothesis on the chip is drawn entirely from observing both the temperature testing, and the GPU clock-speeds. Of the three budget laptops I've tested here, the CPU ran the hottest both on max and on average, and the GPU clocked in the lowest at 2,305 MHz, only drawing on 68 W of total graphical power. Telling.

    System performance

    Testing power and thermal performance of the laptops.

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    77
    95
    77
    82
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    76
    91
    81
    85
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    71
    87
    60
    85
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX77 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 77 Avg GPU (°C), 82 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX76 Avg CPU (°C), 91 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26071 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 60 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Aesthetics

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future
    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future
    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future
    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future

    From a visual standpoint, this is very much a gaming laptop. It's not bad, but if you're a grown professional that blends a bit of work in the day, and gaming in the evening (or on your lunchbreak, who am I to judge on whether or not you fancy some midday WoW Forever dopamine), it might not be the best fit. You've got that hexagonal shaped bezel lining the display, housing the integrated webcam. The same design language along the base near the trackpad. Bold ostentatious keycaps, some of those semi-transparent—for the WASD, and power keys, along with some gaudy arrow keys as well—and it does all feel a bit plasticky too.

    It's a shame because, there's no need for it in the modern era, not really, when the humble square and rectangle exist. It's not particularly abrasive, but if you're in the middle of a presentation and the new hire zones out staring at the RGB rainbow gliding across your keys, you can blame it on that, and not your 23 slides on the implementation of the new agentic optimised structured data markdown system you're rolling out for site content in Q3 2027.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Software

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Perhaps suprisingly, MSI's software suite is genuinely impressive. It's one of the better ones out there once you get past the myriad terms and conditions, scroll boxes, and update windows. There's multi-profile setups, mystic light control, hardware monitoring, GPU switches, recovery modes, all in a singular centralised hub, that doesn't feel that intrusive. You can live without it of course (the profiles don't seem to do that much from my own testing), but it's there for those that really want to tinker and dive into the software settings.

    As always these things come with pre-installed after market antivirus (that yet again stopped me from installing the pre-requisite benchmarks and games I needed), and as always I recommend uninstalling that pronto to free up system resources. Windows Defender is still one of the best native antivirus platforms out there, and as long as you're clued up and internet savvy, you shouldn't have any major issues relying on just that.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Battery life

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    As for the battery, in an amazing twist of fate, that slightly dull screen doesn't exactly help on the battery front. In PC Mark's gaming benchmark—at 50% brightness, with WiFi disabled—the Katana netted just 71 minutes from 100% down to 3% charge. That's not a lot, and only slightly better than Lenovo's Legion 5 (which scored 64 minutes).

    I've got beef with that, particularly because the TUF Gaming A16, has somehow crammed in a 90 WHr battery, in the same form factor, kept the entire device cooler, runs the GPU at higher frequency, performs better, and does it for a similar price (if not cheaper in the States). That's the problem. Is 71 minutes enough if you're stuck on a train without a socket? Maybe, but it could be better, and that's the theme for the entire review. It could be better. Should be better.

    Battery life

    Testing the long term gaming life of the laptops using the industry standard PCMark 10 gaming test.

    PCMark 10 Gaming test

    MSI Katana 15 HX
    71
    Lenovo Legion 5
    64
    Asus TUF Gaming A16
    112
    PCMark 10 Gaming test Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Katana 15 HX71
    Lenovo Legion 564
    Asus TUF Gaming A16112
    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/msi-katana-15-hx-b14w-review/ QzsdXSpkC7ci7hD2LMxzxh Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:21:11 +0000 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:21:15 +0000 false false false

    "A union divided cannot stand," reads a famous quote from a famous man. But only now can we finally know why Abraham Lincoln said what he said. There's no shadow of a doubt in my mind he was (in this journalist's opinion), predicting the rise and fall of MSI's Katana 15 HX B14W 2026 edition. Clearly irate with the apparent division it has between its US and UK pricing. This thing is, no word of a lie, $500 more expensive in the US, and that's even before we add sales tax into the equation. Best gaming laptop? Not in the land of the free, that's for damn sure.

    In ol' blighty, in the realm of the surprisingly good cooking and cheap dental care, it's a whole other story. What you get for a meagre £1,300 first looks quite solid. And although, yes, that's probably three days of heating this coming winter, if you forgo the soothing warmth of your radiators for a bit you can net yourself an RTX 5060, Core i7 14650HX, and 16 GB of (gloriously dual-channel) 5,600 MT/s DDR5 RAM, all paired nicely with a crisp 2560x1440 "IPS-level" display flickering along 165 times every single second.

    For that outlay, I wouldn't blame you in thinking that this is a surprisingly tempting proposition, especially as Black Friday is right around the corner. But it's not without fault, and there's some curious side-effects as a result of the cooling design, that you need to be aware of before you pull the trigger and tell grandma to grab another coat to keep warm.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You're after a cheap UK deal for a versatile laptop: It's not the ultimate gaming machine, no, but MSI's packed a lot of solid quality hardware in here, and for just shy of £1,300 it does beat out the competition spec for spec.

    ✅ You're a big fan of DLSS: That RTX 5060 does lead the field when it comes to ray tracing performance compared to its competition at a similar price point.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You're not a fan of the "gamer" aesthetic: It's big bold and ostentatious, with a hexagonal screen bezel, and overall body design. Everywhere you look, it clearly states itself as "for the gamer", so if you're taking this into a business meeting, look away.

    ❌ You want a CPU and GPU combo that's fully unlocked: The Katana 15 HX technically has a 115 W TGP, but it often taps out at half that, with flailing clock-speeds as a result, we suspect due to CPU bottlenecking.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Features

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future
    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future

    Processor

    Intel Core i7 14650HX PNG

    Cores

    8 Performance, 8 Efficient


    Threads

    24


    Boost clock speed

    5.2 GHz


    Graphics

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB


    RAM

    16 GB (2x8GB) DDR5-5600 MT/s


    Storage

    1 TB Samsung MZVL81T0HFLB-00BTW PCIe 4.0


    Display

    15.6-inch "IPS-Level"


    Resolution

    2560 x 1440


    Refresh

    165 Hz


    Battery

    75 Whr


    Power brick

    240 W


    Weight

    2.4 kg


    Dimensions

    359 x 262 x 25.5 mm


    Price

    £1,299 / $1,799

    So, we've covered the basics already, chunky GPU that kinda pairs nicely with the 2560 x 1440 "IPS-level" display, 115 W TGP which should give the card a bit of leg room to clock-up nice and high. Should. You get WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth as standard. As well as three USB Type-A ports, a USB-C, Ethernet, 3.5 mm audio, and HDMI out too. That's not a huge amount of connectivity; you may need a USB hub or dongle if you're going to spin this up as your main rig with a few extra periphs, but it's a comfortable enough experience if you're on the move, and I've seen worse recently. Razer's Blade 16, doesn't even come with ethernet and that thing costs a staggering five grand or thereabouts (although to be fair it is very good).

    The SSD is a bit underwhelming mind you. It's one of Samsung's… well, I'm not going to reel off the serial code because it's one of those cryptic OEM-only designations that makes no sense to any human that reads it, but in short its an OEM PM9C1b, PCIe 4.0 SSD, that should top out at 7 GB/s on the read and 5.7 GB/s on the writes. It's based on Samsung's in-house Piccolo controller, and taps into 236-layer TLC V-NAND, it's not too dissimilar to the 990 Evo Samsung launched a couple of years back at this point. So y'know, eh…

    As for the chip, that's Intel's Raptor Lake Core i7 14650HX. Again a little dated, but you do get eight performance cores and eight efficient cores for fully 24 threads, and a max turbo clock speed of 5.2 GHz at full tilt. But it's hot, real hot, and that is I think the biggest issue that the B14W currently has. Certainly if we compare it to something like Asus' TUF Gaming A16.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Value

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Alright, yep let's talk value. Ahem... It's a bit of a double-edged sword. Something that ironically a traditional Katana isn't, and it's mostly dependent on which part of the globe you sit. If you're in the US $1,800 for this kit-out is absurd. Particularly when you have laptops like the Lenovo Legion 5 available for a near identical spec, but with a far better OLED screen for less than that.

    And it's that screen that really lets down the whole affair. MSI has it listed as "IPS-level", and to be frank, it doesn't look anything like an IPS. I've got it sat next to two separate IPS monitors right now, and the brightness is dull, the contrast underwhelming, and the color difference between the three genuinely astounding. If you'd have told me this was a TN panel, I'd believe you, and even then go "man, it's a bit rough by modern TN standards, aint it?" Like yes, it's great it's got that 165 Hz refresh rate, and a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a pixel density that puts 4K 32-inch monitors to shame, but it just absolutely pulls you out of the immersion when you see just how dull it looks by comparison to most modern offerings.

    That's almost excusable at the £1200 - £1300 mark, and unconscionable at $1,800 (I have seen this cheaper during my time testing, but let's not assume it's always on offer). Even so, it just leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth, particularly when compared to that A16, or the Lenovo Legion 5.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Sound

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    I'll talk more about this momentarily, but the fans are not particularly that noisy under load. They are spinning and going at what I assume is full-tilt, but compared to the likes of the Lenovo, it's a whole other ball game. Dare I say, you don't need a set of noise cancelling headphones to drown out the sound of this thing.

    As for the speakers, they're ok. Bass is a bit muted, there's not a lot of breadth to the soundscape (perhaps unsurprising given the form factor), but clarity is up there, and there's no tinniness in the upper trebles. If you're listening to Blood in the Bayou by River Lume and Spearfisher, you can hear every single note of the banjo as clear as day. Yes it does lack the warmth and thrum you'd expect from a full setup, but again, it's two tiny tweeters.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Performance

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Things don't fair particularly better in the performance department either. Although yes it does have a dual-channel RAM setup (thank god, because I don't think I could cope if it didn't), CPU performance is woefully under par compared to even the Core i7 13650HX in the Legion 5, and in-game things get considerably less impressive, even though it has that 115W TGP.

    1 / 4

    1080p gaming performance

    Running games at a normalised resolution to compare frame rates at the same level

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    32
    21
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    29
    15
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    31
    21
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX32 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX29 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26031 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS

    Take it into Cyberpunk 2077, at 1080p with ray tracing dialed up to Ultra, and it runs only a single frame per second faster than the TUF Gaming A16. Which would be fine, if it wasn't for the fact that laptop's running an RTX 5050, not the more powerful RTX 5060. In fact the Katana behaves almost as badly as Lenovo's memory starved RTX 5060 does.

    Things do improve when you turn the DLSS fun times on of course, and at the screen's native res. we saw exactly that, with the frame rate shooting up from 20 fps to 64 fps. But then logically that makes sense as we're shifting more of the load away from the CPU and onto the GPU with those interpolated frames.

    And it's definitely the CPU that's the crux of the issue here too. Jump into Baldur's Gate 3, and there's an even larger discrepancy between it and the TUF. At 1080p again, the MSI managed just 50 fps, versus that plucky little RTX 5050's 63 fps. In fact you can go down the entire list of benchmarks, and at every single 1080p level, the Asus TUF Gaming A16 is either close, or beating it. For a lower model GPU, and a card that scores lower in every synthetic test we can run. It's astounding.

    Creator and system performance

    Testing the non-gaming performance of the laptops.

    Compressing (GIPS)
    Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    100.46
    105.57
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    66.83
    113
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    82.31
    119.91
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX100.46 Compressing (GIPS), 105.57 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX66.83 Compressing (GIPS), 113 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26082.31 Compressing (GIPS), 119.91 Decompressing (GIPS)

    That hypothesis on the chip is drawn entirely from observing both the temperature testing, and the GPU clock-speeds. Of the three budget laptops I've tested here, the CPU ran the hottest both on max and on average, and the GPU clocked in the lowest at 2,305 MHz, only drawing on 68 W of total graphical power. Telling.

    System performance

    Testing power and thermal performance of the laptops.

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    77
    95
    77
    82
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    76
    91
    81
    85
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    71
    87
    60
    85
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX77 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 77 Avg GPU (°C), 82 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX76 Avg CPU (°C), 91 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26071 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 60 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Aesthetics

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future
    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future
    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future
    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop
    Future

    From a visual standpoint, this is very much a gaming laptop. It's not bad, but if you're a grown professional that blends a bit of work in the day, and gaming in the evening (or on your lunchbreak, who am I to judge on whether or not you fancy some midday WoW Forever dopamine), it might not be the best fit. You've got that hexagonal shaped bezel lining the display, housing the integrated webcam. The same design language along the base near the trackpad. Bold ostentatious keycaps, some of those semi-transparent—for the WASD, and power keys, along with some gaudy arrow keys as well—and it does all feel a bit plasticky too.

    It's a shame because, there's no need for it in the modern era, not really, when the humble square and rectangle exist. It's not particularly abrasive, but if you're in the middle of a presentation and the new hire zones out staring at the RGB rainbow gliding across your keys, you can blame it on that, and not your 23 slides on the implementation of the new agentic optimised structured data markdown system you're rolling out for site content in Q3 2027.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Software

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Perhaps suprisingly, MSI's software suite is genuinely impressive. It's one of the better ones out there once you get past the myriad terms and conditions, scroll boxes, and update windows. There's multi-profile setups, mystic light control, hardware monitoring, GPU switches, recovery modes, all in a singular centralised hub, that doesn't feel that intrusive. You can live without it of course (the profiles don't seem to do that much from my own testing), but it's there for those that really want to tinker and dive into the software settings.

    As always these things come with pre-installed after market antivirus (that yet again stopped me from installing the pre-requisite benchmarks and games I needed), and as always I recommend uninstalling that pronto to free up system resources. Windows Defender is still one of the best native antivirus platforms out there, and as long as you're clued up and internet savvy, you shouldn't have any major issues relying on just that.

    MSI Katana 15 HX - Battery life

    MSI Katana 15 HX gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    As for the battery, in an amazing twist of fate, that slightly dull screen doesn't exactly help on the battery front. In PC Mark's gaming benchmark—at 50% brightness, with WiFi disabled—the Katana netted just 71 minutes from 100% down to 3% charge. That's not a lot, and only slightly better than Lenovo's Legion 5 (which scored 64 minutes).

    I've got beef with that, particularly because the TUF Gaming A16, has somehow crammed in a 90 WHr battery, in the same form factor, kept the entire device cooler, runs the GPU at higher frequency, performs better, and does it for a similar price (if not cheaper in the States). That's the problem. Is 71 minutes enough if you're stuck on a train without a socket? Maybe, but it could be better, and that's the theme for the entire review. It could be better. Should be better.

    Battery life

    Testing the long term gaming life of the laptops using the industry standard PCMark 10 gaming test.

    PCMark 10 Gaming test

    MSI Katana 15 HX
    71
    Lenovo Legion 5
    64
    Asus TUF Gaming A16
    112
    PCMark 10 Gaming test Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Katana 15 HX71
    Lenovo Legion 564
    Asus TUF Gaming A16112
    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 gaming laptop review ]]> "I'm sure you'll enjoy reviewing this single-channel Lenovo laptop," Dave joked, as we ended a call discussing the new PC Gamer benchmark database. I laughed, as you do, because it's one of those things that I've written about extensively in recent months, (and moaned at PC Gamer, a lot more about besides), and one I hoped I wouldn't see here today. Because, you know, it's mildly insane. And yet… Here we are. Oh... oh boy.

    I'm actually reviewing a slew of mid-range laptops currently. This, the MSI Katana 15 HX, and the Asus TUF Gaming A16. And you know what those other two plucky little lappies have? Well, you've probably already guessed, 2x 8 GB of DDR5, both running at 5,600 MT/s. Not so with Lenovo's Legion 5. This wee beauty comes in with just a single 16 GB stick running at a "rapid" (that's sarcasm) 4,800 MT/s. The gaming equivalent of buying a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and fitting it with a diesel engine from a 1997 Peugeot 106 (an exaggeration, yes, but I'm just so passionate about RAM channels this feels like an almost personal betrayal to me).

    Now the logical assumption here is that, for a gamer, this has minimal impact on the overall result, right? You're not going to see any issue at all, because most of your performance comes from the GPU, and its VRAM doing its job. The likelihood of CPU bottlenecks, particularly at 2560x1600, is fairly muted. In short, doing the tasks that this little laptop was designed to fulfill should be a doddle with or without the extra channel bandwidth. Heck, it might even make it into the best gaming laptop buying guide, Lenovo probably said, (11 years of journalism folks).

    And, that's kinda true, but the problem is, that in those moments that the RAM bandwidth bottleneck suddenly becomes a thing. It's a problem. A big bloody problem. And not of the same caliber as your GPU getting a little too hot and clock speed falling off by a couple 100 MHz. As soon as that channel saturates, that Peugeot 106 engine blows a head gasket.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want a beautiful crisp OLED display on the cheap: Gaming? Tick. An aesthetic delight? Tick. The most beautiful screen you've seen for sub 1.5K? Also tick.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You're likely to play games at high frame rates, or do memory intensive tasks: The lack of a 2x8GB RAM setup is no bueno for anything even mildly bandwidth sensitive.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Features

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future
    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future
    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future

    Processor

    Intel Core i7 13650HX

    Cores

    6 Performance, 8 Efficient


    Threads

    20


    Boost clock speed

    4.9 GHz


    Graphics

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8GB


    RAM

    16GB (1x16GB) DDR5-4800 MT/s


    Storage

    1 TB Kioxia LS KBG60ZNT1T02 PCIe 4.0


    Display

    15.1-inch OLED


    Resolution

    2560 x 1600


    Refresh

    165 Hz


    Battery

    80 Whr


    Power brick

    245 W


    Weight

    1.9 kg


    Dimensions

    344.9 x 255.35 x 19.95 to 21.54 mm


    Price

    £1,348 / $1,499 (US model features Core i7-14700HX)

    RAM beef aside, the Lenovo Legion 5's notable feature list, outside of the usual bells and whistles, and AI strapped moniker, is fairly slim. The big selling point, without question, is the 15.1-inch OLED display. That beautiful piece of engineering, that graces the 5's sublimely slim form factor.

    With some serious pixel density thanks to a 2560x1600 res. (sitting at a suave 199.93 PPI), it cranks out an impressive 165 Hz refresh rate. And the colors, oh my days, the colors on this thing are exemplary. It's one of the few laptops I keep coming back to, and keep gaming on time and time again, throughout the last month, because the display is just that gorgeous to look at.

    In fact, every time I flick the lid up, or pop my finger on the power button, I'm genuinely amazed by how vibrant and smooth it looks. Power Wash Simulator 2 has never looked this good, and don't even get me started on Sort Them Ducks.

    There's more to it than just a fancy screen though, as it comes with support for twin M.2 SSDs, and features WiFi 7 straight out of the gate. The port selection is fairly solid too, with wired ethernet running alongside dual USB C and twin USB 3.2 Type A as well, along with an HDMI out.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Value

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Back to the screen for a second though, and why that impresses on me so much, is that the price is so damn tight. Particularly for the modern AI age. £1,348 in the UK. That nets you that 20 thread chip, a decent RTX 5060 (actually running at a reputable power wattage for once), a solid PCIe 4.0 SSD, and of course you get all of those bells and whistles I mentioned above, with arguably the best-looking screen I've seen in the past six months.

    Unfortunately, the US market no longer sports the exact spec that I have here, but its closest kin, comes in at a still respectable $1,499 (when not on offer), and features the slightly more modern Core i7 14700HX as well, which nets you some additional cores for an extra eight threads overall.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Sound

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    I've been quietly surprised by just how good the speaker setup is on the Legion 5 too. There are two small tweeters situated within the bottom edge of the trackpad, on either side facing outwards, that give it a surprising amount of depth in the audio, and there's a comfortable amount of bass output as well here, somehow. Maybe Lenovo could lend its sound engineers out to MSI, for like a play date or something.

    Is it tinny? Well, yeah, a little. It's not exactly going to hold up compared to your Audioengine A2+ wireless units or anything of the sort. But if you're strapped in a pinch, and feel like ditching those pesky headphones, it does a respectable job of handling itself in that situation.

    System performance

    Testing power and thermal performance of the laptops.

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    76
    91
    81
    85
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    77
    95
    77
    82
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    71
    87
    60
    85
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX76 Avg CPU (°C), 91 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX77 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 77 Avg GPU (°C), 82 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26071 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 60 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)

    As for the fan noise. Well, it's a slim-line gaming notebook with a 115 W RTX 5060 in it, and a hot as heck Core i7 13650HX at its heart. The max CPU temp under load was 99 degrees, and in gaming you're looking at temps of 81 C on the GPU and 76 on the CPU on average. That's a polite way of saying "she's a bit loud", but in a loving way.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Performance

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Right then, performance. Let's talk about the obvious memory shaped elephant in the room first, shall we? Lenovo's single-channel RAM setup. The argument (as with all major manufacturers who take this route, and I can quote this verbatim at this point), is that it allows the end-user to increase the amount of RAM later, simply by adding another memory stick themselves. Yeah, I suppose, if you're willing to do that, can afford to, and can find one that comfortably matches for compatibility's sake. For everyone else, though, it has some particularly wanton side effects in specific applications that genuinely matter.

    Creator and system performance

    Testing the non-gaming performance of the laptops.

    Compressing (GIPS)
    Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    66.83
    113
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    100.46
    105.57
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    82.31
    119.91
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX66.83 Compressing (GIPS), 113 Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX100.46 Compressing (GIPS), 105.57 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26082.31 Compressing (GIPS), 119.91 Decompressing (GIPS)

    File compression in particular suffers the most, scoring the lowest out of our three models here, with just 66.83 MB/s on compression, versus the 82.31 touted by Asus's TUF Gaming A16, or the 100.46 brought to bear by the Katana. That's a drop of 33.5% in performance alone there on the latter.

    It's gaming, however, that's most fascinating. The two standouts being the 1440p Cyberpunk results. With Ray Tracing Ultra and no DLSS or Frame Gen, the numbers are telling. The Katana averaged 20 fps, with minimums clocking in at 15. The Legion, just a meager 11 fps on average, with 3 fps on the minimums. A staggering drop. That's further pressed home by the fact that Lenovo did that with significantly higher GPU usage too. Average power draw was 85 W with a clock speed of 2,678 MHz, versus the Katana's 2,305 MHz and 68 W draw. Ouch.

    1 / 4

    1080p gaming performance

    Running games at a normalised resolution to compare frame rates at the same level

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    29
    15
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    32
    21
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    31
    21
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX29 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX32 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26031 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS

    Now yes, two very specific niche cases, but the drop there is near enough 50% all because memory bandwidth gets chewed up by high textures, and no upscaling. If you're a fan of playing AAA games at native res on that beautiful OLED, even with the GPU rip roaring along far faster than the competition, you're still going to see an overall drop in performance. Particularly if RTX is involved and DLSS is off. The answer, of course, is to shift to DLSS where you can, and offset those texture sizes, but still, it's a decision that's taken out of your hands entirely.

    It's a shame because otherwise by almost every other measure, it's a fine solid laptop, that delivers performance (particularly in older titles) that's genuinely decent. Just the decision to skimp out on dual-channel to save a few bucks, costs it, and when you hit that bottleneck you seriously know about it. I just can't understand what the logic is here either, particularly when competitors, such as Asus and MSI, aren't doing that even on their budget models.

    If it's a cost thing, you're saving what $50 maybe at most as a manufacturer per unit, and if it's a "the user can upgrade later", then you're justifying worse performance, and forcing the consumer into unpaid finicky labor to get the performance that the Legion 5 actually should be delivering from the outset.

    It's dumb. I don't like it.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Aesthetics

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future
    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future
    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future

    Ignoring my vendetta against any manufacturer that ships single-channel systems, the good news is the Legion 5 is absolutely stunning. It's sleek, slim, all black, with a clean RGB keyboard. There's minimal "gamification" here, and it's elegantly designed across the board, with a clean hinge, and no maddening RGB logos, or silly mascots anywhere.

    Compact, is the word I'd use, and although that does lead to some particularly noisy fans from time to time, and some toasty temps, none of it will affect your day to day.

    The only downside (when you're not staring at that beautiful screen) is that it is a bit of a fingerprint magnet. If you've got even a smidge of grease on your fingertips, say, from an overly large bag of prawn cocktail crisps (US: chips), it can turn into a mess quite quickly.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Software

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    As with all Lenovo Legion laptops, do bear in mind you will need to set the Legion App to its gaming mode to get the best performance out of it when plugged in. It does boost frame-rates by around 10-15% across the board, and nets you that higher GPU power usage and clockspeeds listed here as a result. That does get disabled by default when you unplug the thing, at which point you sit in balanced mode for better battery life.

    It also comes with McAfee as standard (or at least our UK edition did), so get to work uninstalling that pronto. It actively stopped a fair few of our game installs, and honestly in this journo's opinion, Windows Defender is more than well equipped to handle the dangers of the modern age.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Battery life

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    As for the battery life, yeah, not so good either. It's the second shortest span I've seen on PC Mark's gaming test, managing just 64 minutes, only "beaten" by Acer's Predator Helios NEO 16S AI, with its 53 minutes. So don't expect this to hang on for long once the charger's unplugged.

    Lenovo did equip the Legion 5 with a respectable 80 WHr pack, but I suspect that the OLED panel, even at 50% brightness, is sucking up a lot of juice regardless.

    Battery life

    Testing the long term gaming life of the laptops using the industry standard PCMark 10 gaming test.

    PCMark 10 Gaming test

    Lenovo Legion 5
    64
    MSI Katana 15 HX
    71
    Asus TUF Gaming A16
    112
    PCMark 10 Gaming test Data
    ProductValue
    Lenovo Legion 564
    MSI Katana 15 HX71
    Asus TUF Gaming A16112
    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/lenovo-legion-5i-gen-10-review/ ytoFYsKwYCuFAMASvEhHuW Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:21:08 +0000 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:21:12 +0000 false false false

    "I'm sure you'll enjoy reviewing this single-channel Lenovo laptop," Dave joked, as we ended a call discussing the new PC Gamer benchmark database. I laughed, as you do, because it's one of those things that I've written about extensively in recent months, (and moaned at PC Gamer, a lot more about besides), and one I hoped I wouldn't see here today. Because, you know, it's mildly insane. And yet… Here we are. Oh... oh boy.

    I'm actually reviewing a slew of mid-range laptops currently. This, the MSI Katana 15 HX, and the Asus TUF Gaming A16. And you know what those other two plucky little lappies have? Well, you've probably already guessed, 2x 8 GB of DDR5, both running at 5,600 MT/s. Not so with Lenovo's Legion 5. This wee beauty comes in with just a single 16 GB stick running at a "rapid" (that's sarcasm) 4,800 MT/s. The gaming equivalent of buying a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and fitting it with a diesel engine from a 1997 Peugeot 106 (an exaggeration, yes, but I'm just so passionate about RAM channels this feels like an almost personal betrayal to me).

    Now the logical assumption here is that, for a gamer, this has minimal impact on the overall result, right? You're not going to see any issue at all, because most of your performance comes from the GPU, and its VRAM doing its job. The likelihood of CPU bottlenecks, particularly at 2560x1600, is fairly muted. In short, doing the tasks that this little laptop was designed to fulfill should be a doddle with or without the extra channel bandwidth. Heck, it might even make it into the best gaming laptop buying guide, Lenovo probably said, (11 years of journalism folks).

    And, that's kinda true, but the problem is, that in those moments that the RAM bandwidth bottleneck suddenly becomes a thing. It's a problem. A big bloody problem. And not of the same caliber as your GPU getting a little too hot and clock speed falling off by a couple 100 MHz. As soon as that channel saturates, that Peugeot 106 engine blows a head gasket.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want a beautiful crisp OLED display on the cheap: Gaming? Tick. An aesthetic delight? Tick. The most beautiful screen you've seen for sub 1.5K? Also tick.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You're likely to play games at high frame rates, or do memory intensive tasks: The lack of a 2x8GB RAM setup is no bueno for anything even mildly bandwidth sensitive.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Features

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future
    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future
    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future

    Processor

    Intel Core i7 13650HX

    Cores

    6 Performance, 8 Efficient


    Threads

    20


    Boost clock speed

    4.9 GHz


    Graphics

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8GB


    RAM

    16GB (1x16GB) DDR5-4800 MT/s


    Storage

    1 TB Kioxia LS KBG60ZNT1T02 PCIe 4.0


    Display

    15.1-inch OLED


    Resolution

    2560 x 1600


    Refresh

    165 Hz


    Battery

    80 Whr


    Power brick

    245 W


    Weight

    1.9 kg


    Dimensions

    344.9 x 255.35 x 19.95 to 21.54 mm


    Price

    £1,348 / $1,499 (US model features Core i7-14700HX)

    RAM beef aside, the Lenovo Legion 5's notable feature list, outside of the usual bells and whistles, and AI strapped moniker, is fairly slim. The big selling point, without question, is the 15.1-inch OLED display. That beautiful piece of engineering, that graces the 5's sublimely slim form factor.

    With some serious pixel density thanks to a 2560x1600 res. (sitting at a suave 199.93 PPI), it cranks out an impressive 165 Hz refresh rate. And the colors, oh my days, the colors on this thing are exemplary. It's one of the few laptops I keep coming back to, and keep gaming on time and time again, throughout the last month, because the display is just that gorgeous to look at.

    In fact, every time I flick the lid up, or pop my finger on the power button, I'm genuinely amazed by how vibrant and smooth it looks. Power Wash Simulator 2 has never looked this good, and don't even get me started on Sort Them Ducks.

    There's more to it than just a fancy screen though, as it comes with support for twin M.2 SSDs, and features WiFi 7 straight out of the gate. The port selection is fairly solid too, with wired ethernet running alongside dual USB C and twin USB 3.2 Type A as well, along with an HDMI out.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Value

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Back to the screen for a second though, and why that impresses on me so much, is that the price is so damn tight. Particularly for the modern AI age. £1,348 in the UK. That nets you that 20 thread chip, a decent RTX 5060 (actually running at a reputable power wattage for once), a solid PCIe 4.0 SSD, and of course you get all of those bells and whistles I mentioned above, with arguably the best-looking screen I've seen in the past six months.

    Unfortunately, the US market no longer sports the exact spec that I have here, but its closest kin, comes in at a still respectable $1,499 (when not on offer), and features the slightly more modern Core i7 14700HX as well, which nets you some additional cores for an extra eight threads overall.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Sound

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    I've been quietly surprised by just how good the speaker setup is on the Legion 5 too. There are two small tweeters situated within the bottom edge of the trackpad, on either side facing outwards, that give it a surprising amount of depth in the audio, and there's a comfortable amount of bass output as well here, somehow. Maybe Lenovo could lend its sound engineers out to MSI, for like a play date or something.

    Is it tinny? Well, yeah, a little. It's not exactly going to hold up compared to your Audioengine A2+ wireless units or anything of the sort. But if you're strapped in a pinch, and feel like ditching those pesky headphones, it does a respectable job of handling itself in that situation.

    System performance

    Testing power and thermal performance of the laptops.

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    76
    91
    81
    85
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    77
    95
    77
    82
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    71
    87
    60
    85
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX76 Avg CPU (°C), 91 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX77 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 77 Avg GPU (°C), 82 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26071 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 60 Avg GPU (°C), 85 Max GPU (°C)

    As for the fan noise. Well, it's a slim-line gaming notebook with a 115 W RTX 5060 in it, and a hot as heck Core i7 13650HX at its heart. The max CPU temp under load was 99 degrees, and in gaming you're looking at temps of 81 C on the GPU and 76 on the CPU on average. That's a polite way of saying "she's a bit loud", but in a loving way.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Performance

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Right then, performance. Let's talk about the obvious memory shaped elephant in the room first, shall we? Lenovo's single-channel RAM setup. The argument (as with all major manufacturers who take this route, and I can quote this verbatim at this point), is that it allows the end-user to increase the amount of RAM later, simply by adding another memory stick themselves. Yeah, I suppose, if you're willing to do that, can afford to, and can find one that comfortably matches for compatibility's sake. For everyone else, though, it has some particularly wanton side effects in specific applications that genuinely matter.

    Creator and system performance

    Testing the non-gaming performance of the laptops.

    Compressing (GIPS)
    Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    66.83
    113
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    100.46
    105.57
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    82.31
    119.91
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX66.83 Compressing (GIPS), 113 Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX100.46 Compressing (GIPS), 105.57 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26082.31 Compressing (GIPS), 119.91 Decompressing (GIPS)

    File compression in particular suffers the most, scoring the lowest out of our three models here, with just 66.83 MB/s on compression, versus the 82.31 touted by Asus's TUF Gaming A16, or the 100.46 brought to bear by the Katana. That's a drop of 33.5% in performance alone there on the latter.

    It's gaming, however, that's most fascinating. The two standouts being the 1440p Cyberpunk results. With Ray Tracing Ultra and no DLSS or Frame Gen, the numbers are telling. The Katana averaged 20 fps, with minimums clocking in at 15. The Legion, just a meager 11 fps on average, with 3 fps on the minimums. A staggering drop. That's further pressed home by the fact that Lenovo did that with significantly higher GPU usage too. Average power draw was 85 W with a clock speed of 2,678 MHz, versus the Katana's 2,305 MHz and 68 W draw. Ouch.

    1 / 4

    1080p gaming performance

    Running games at a normalised resolution to compare frame rates at the same level

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX
    29
    15
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX
    32
    21
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 260
    31
    21
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Lenovo Legion 5 | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 13650HX29 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
    MSI Katana 15 HX | RTX 5060 115 W | i7 14650HX32 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
    Asus TUF Gaming A16 | RTX 5050 115 W | Ryzen 7 26031 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS

    Now yes, two very specific niche cases, but the drop there is near enough 50% all because memory bandwidth gets chewed up by high textures, and no upscaling. If you're a fan of playing AAA games at native res on that beautiful OLED, even with the GPU rip roaring along far faster than the competition, you're still going to see an overall drop in performance. Particularly if RTX is involved and DLSS is off. The answer, of course, is to shift to DLSS where you can, and offset those texture sizes, but still, it's a decision that's taken out of your hands entirely.

    It's a shame because otherwise by almost every other measure, it's a fine solid laptop, that delivers performance (particularly in older titles) that's genuinely decent. Just the decision to skimp out on dual-channel to save a few bucks, costs it, and when you hit that bottleneck you seriously know about it. I just can't understand what the logic is here either, particularly when competitors, such as Asus and MSI, aren't doing that even on their budget models.

    If it's a cost thing, you're saving what $50 maybe at most as a manufacturer per unit, and if it's a "the user can upgrade later", then you're justifying worse performance, and forcing the consumer into unpaid finicky labor to get the performance that the Legion 5 actually should be delivering from the outset.

    It's dumb. I don't like it.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Aesthetics

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future
    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future
    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop
    Future

    Ignoring my vendetta against any manufacturer that ships single-channel systems, the good news is the Legion 5 is absolutely stunning. It's sleek, slim, all black, with a clean RGB keyboard. There's minimal "gamification" here, and it's elegantly designed across the board, with a clean hinge, and no maddening RGB logos, or silly mascots anywhere.

    Compact, is the word I'd use, and although that does lead to some particularly noisy fans from time to time, and some toasty temps, none of it will affect your day to day.

    The only downside (when you're not staring at that beautiful screen) is that it is a bit of a fingerprint magnet. If you've got even a smidge of grease on your fingertips, say, from an overly large bag of prawn cocktail crisps (US: chips), it can turn into a mess quite quickly.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Software

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    As with all Lenovo Legion laptops, do bear in mind you will need to set the Legion App to its gaming mode to get the best performance out of it when plugged in. It does boost frame-rates by around 10-15% across the board, and nets you that higher GPU power usage and clockspeeds listed here as a result. That does get disabled by default when you unplug the thing, at which point you sit in balanced mode for better battery life.

    It also comes with McAfee as standard (or at least our UK edition did), so get to work uninstalling that pronto. It actively stopped a fair few of our game installs, and honestly in this journo's opinion, Windows Defender is more than well equipped to handle the dangers of the modern age.

    Lenovo Legion 5i - Battery life

    Lenovo Legion 5 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    As for the battery life, yeah, not so good either. It's the second shortest span I've seen on PC Mark's gaming test, managing just 64 minutes, only "beaten" by Acer's Predator Helios NEO 16S AI, with its 53 minutes. So don't expect this to hang on for long once the charger's unplugged.

    Lenovo did equip the Legion 5 with a respectable 80 WHr pack, but I suspect that the OLED panel, even at 50% brightness, is sucking up a lot of juice regardless.

    Battery life

    Testing the long term gaming life of the laptops using the industry standard PCMark 10 gaming test.

    PCMark 10 Gaming test

    Lenovo Legion 5
    64
    MSI Katana 15 HX
    71
    Asus TUF Gaming A16
    112
    PCMark 10 Gaming test Data
    ProductValue
    Lenovo Legion 564
    MSI Katana 15 HX71
    Asus TUF Gaming A16112
    ]]>     <![CDATA[ 31% of you go full goth and keep your RGB lighting turned off, while a mere 7% drench your rigs in unicorn vomit ]]> Last week, I polled our readers (that's you lot) to ask how much RGB lighting festoons your gaming PCs. And I'll be honest, the results come as a bit of a surprise—it turns out that 31% of you opt to keep your rigs dark and moody, with no RGB at all.

    I get that times are hard out there, but really? No RGB lighting in the slightest? Fair enough. I've got to say, though, there's something quite cool about a totally stealthed-out mean machine. Or a bit goth, but then I suppose the odd dash of RGB might add to that effect.

    How much RGB festoons your gaming PC?

    Out of 1,441 poll respondents, here are the results expressed as percentages:

    Votes (%)

    None - my rig is dark and moody, like my soul
    31
    I'm a tasteful Terrance - A little here and there
    19
    I turn off most RGB lighting, but not all
    18
    Whatever it's set to out of the box, duh
    15
    Most of my PC is lit with RGB
    10
    Full unicorn vomit - RGB everywhere!
    7
    Votes (%) Data
    ProductValue
    None - my rig is dark and moody, like my soul31
    I'm a tasteful Terrance - A little here and there19
    I turn off most RGB lighting, but not all18
    Whatever it's set to out of the box, duh15
    Most of my PC is lit with RGB10
    Full unicorn vomit - RGB everywhere!7

    Which is where the second highest proportion of poll respondents voted, with 19% picking the "I'm a tasteful Terrance" option. Interestingly, 18% said they turn off most RGB lighting, but not all. You can blame my own poll-writing skills, I guess, but I suspect there's a significant amount of overlap between those two answers.

    Looking at the comments section, I think I can see where many of these voters are coming from. Some of you mentioned your PC has a splash of RGB inside thanks to the odd component, like an LED-lit motherboard or GPU.

    Meanwhile, 15% of respondents said they leave their RGB set to whatever it came with out of the box (as someone who's left a rainbow display running on his RAM modules out of sheer ennui, I think I understand), while 10% of you have most of your PC lit with RGB at all times.

    And as for the full rainbow effect enjoyers? Well, 104 of you, or 7% of survey respondents, seem to enjoy a good dose of unicorn vomit. Hey, it's not to my tastes—but I like that we seem to have some neon hippies among us. You get your RGB freak on, you happy few. I'll enjoy the photos, although I might suggest some sunglasses to prevent long-term eye damage.

    This week, we're asking you what PC tech you want to see on discount over the October Prime Day or Black Friday sales. Given the cost of everything right now, I'll be very interested to see the results. My own wallet is already hiding under the sofa in anticipation. Here's hoping we see a return to great deals on our favourite gaming gear, ey?

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/lighting/31-percent-of-you-go-full-goth-and-keep-your-rgb-lighting-turned-off-while-a-mere-7-percent-drench-your-rigs-in-unicorn-vomit/ 4Qg9w6xHxh5LKNeSNSqLEY Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:24:56 +0000 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:09:13 +0000 false false false

    Last week, I polled our readers (that's you lot) to ask how much RGB lighting festoons your gaming PCs. And I'll be honest, the results come as a bit of a surprise—it turns out that 31% of you opt to keep your rigs dark and moody, with no RGB at all.

    I get that times are hard out there, but really? No RGB lighting in the slightest? Fair enough. I've got to say, though, there's something quite cool about a totally stealthed-out mean machine. Or a bit goth, but then I suppose the odd dash of RGB might add to that effect.

    How much RGB festoons your gaming PC?

    Out of 1,441 poll respondents, here are the results expressed as percentages:

    Votes (%)

    None - my rig is dark and moody, like my soul
    31
    I'm a tasteful Terrance - A little here and there
    19
    I turn off most RGB lighting, but not all
    18
    Whatever it's set to out of the box, duh
    15
    Most of my PC is lit with RGB
    10
    Full unicorn vomit - RGB everywhere!
    7
    Votes (%) Data
    ProductValue
    None - my rig is dark and moody, like my soul31
    I'm a tasteful Terrance - A little here and there19
    I turn off most RGB lighting, but not all18
    Whatever it's set to out of the box, duh15
    Most of my PC is lit with RGB10
    Full unicorn vomit - RGB everywhere!7

    Which is where the second highest proportion of poll respondents voted, with 19% picking the "I'm a tasteful Terrance" option. Interestingly, 18% said they turn off most RGB lighting, but not all. You can blame my own poll-writing skills, I guess, but I suspect there's a significant amount of overlap between those two answers.

    Looking at the comments section, I think I can see where many of these voters are coming from. Some of you mentioned your PC has a splash of RGB inside thanks to the odd component, like an LED-lit motherboard or GPU.

    Meanwhile, 15% of respondents said they leave their RGB set to whatever it came with out of the box (as someone who's left a rainbow display running on his RAM modules out of sheer ennui, I think I understand), while 10% of you have most of your PC lit with RGB at all times.

    And as for the full rainbow effect enjoyers? Well, 104 of you, or 7% of survey respondents, seem to enjoy a good dose of unicorn vomit. Hey, it's not to my tastes—but I like that we seem to have some neon hippies among us. You get your RGB freak on, you happy few. I'll enjoy the photos, although I might suggest some sunglasses to prevent long-term eye damage.

    This week, we're asking you what PC tech you want to see on discount over the October Prime Day or Black Friday sales. Given the cost of everything right now, I'll be very interested to see the results. My own wallet is already hiding under the sofa in anticipation. Here's hoping we see a return to great deals on our favourite gaming gear, ey?

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Oh, the places you'll game: Aerospace engineers use Steam Deck to steer Mars rover prototype ]]>

    Here's one for you: Let's say you're a scientist tasked with designing an intuitive physical interface for a human operator to remotely control a robot destined to rove Mars. What do you do? Well, it turns out there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

    Airbus recently showed off its ExoMars rover to documentarian Tom Scott, even letting him have a go at steering it. The remote control device the aerospace company uses turns out to be a modified Steam Deck. Whether it's the LCD or OLED model, I can't say but it looks like the standard version to me.

    During the short documentary, the rover is driven forward via the handheld gaming PC. A 'bumper' press then turns the wheels around 90-degrees, avoiding the need for an awkward turning circle or the possibility of getting stuck on a space rock.

    The team at the aerospace company's Stevenage campus in the UK are developing autonomous navigation for the ExoMars rover, using what appears to be custom software running from a Steam Deck to navigate the terrain of their test bed. When the rover finally touches down on the Red Planet, it won't need to be steered via Valve's handheld.

    The company is aiming to send a rover called the Rosalind Franklin to Mars in 2030, with the whole project described as "the culmination of more than 20 years’ work," by Airbus Defence and Space UK managing director Kata Escott (via Tom's Hardware). In addition to autonomous navigation, the company is also developing the rover landing platform's mechanical, thermal and propulsion systems.

    There'll be no gamer den on that Mars landing platform, but it's still neat that Valve's handheld was a stepping stone on the journey there. And they say videogames can't teach you anything…

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/oh-the-places-youll-game-aerospace-engineers-use-steam-deck-to-steer-mars-rover-prototype/ sTE24gwHLba8kjAoT6Hf7e Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:38:26 +0000 false false false

    Here's one for you: Let's say you're a scientist tasked with designing an intuitive physical interface for a human operator to remotely control a robot destined to rove Mars. What do you do? Well, it turns out there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

    Airbus recently showed off its ExoMars rover to documentarian Tom Scott, even letting him have a go at steering it. The remote control device the aerospace company uses turns out to be a modified Steam Deck. Whether it's the LCD or OLED model, I can't say but it looks like the standard version to me.

    During the short documentary, the rover is driven forward via the handheld gaming PC. A 'bumper' press then turns the wheels around 90-degrees, avoiding the need for an awkward turning circle or the possibility of getting stuck on a space rock.

    The team at the aerospace company's Stevenage campus in the UK are developing autonomous navigation for the ExoMars rover, using what appears to be custom software running from a Steam Deck to navigate the terrain of their test bed. When the rover finally touches down on the Red Planet, it won't need to be steered via Valve's handheld.

    The company is aiming to send a rover called the Rosalind Franklin to Mars in 2030, with the whole project described as "the culmination of more than 20 years’ work," by Airbus Defence and Space UK managing director Kata Escott (via Tom's Hardware). In addition to autonomous navigation, the company is also developing the rover landing platform's mechanical, thermal and propulsion systems.

    There'll be no gamer den on that Mars landing platform, but it's still neat that Valve's handheld was a stepping stone on the journey there. And they say videogames can't teach you anything…

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ $14,000 for a PC with titanium-alloy flowers that unfurl as your system temps get toasty? Well, okay then... ]]> RGB lighting? Storm-trooper-white styling? Real wood accents? Fuggedabowdit. What you really need to stand out in today's crowded custom PC market is heat-reactive titanium-alloy cherry blossoms that unfurl as your CPU and GPU temps climb. Yes, really.

    I give you the Cherry Bloom from Aussie PC maker Aftershock, a custom PC you can actually order today. To quote the company: "Inside the system, 70 handcrafted cherry blossoms made from a special heat-reactive titanium alloy open as the PC comes alive, turning power, temperature, lighting, and performance into a living showcase."

    It's a bit of a sidenote, but the rest of the specs involve an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, Nvidia RTX 5080 graphics, a 2 TB NVME drive from Lexar and 64 GB or memory. All told, you're looking at a retail price of $19,995 Australian dollars.

    That works out at a sniff over $14,000 in USD and about £10,000 in old money. That's a hill of cash, obviously. Okay, an RTX 5080 is about $1,500 alone these days, high performance DDR5 in that capacity is probably getting on for $1,500, the 2 TB Lexar SSD is nigh on $500, likewise the 9800X3D CPU.

    But even throwing in some fancy liquid cooling complete with a full curved display on the CPU block, a 1,300 W PSU and the APNX V2 White case (which provides wrap-around glass on three sides to ensure optimal viewing of the cherry blossom sculpture), you're at, what, about $8k for the titanium animated flowers? Still, at least those flowers should be reliable.

    Aftershock PC Cherry Bloom petal details

    (Image credit: Aftershock PC)

    After all, they don't use motors. Instead, the movement is a function of heat generated by the system components being conducted through the metal petals. Shut down and as the heat is dissipated, the petals will curl up, again.

    It's a pretty neat idea, even if the resulting bonsai-tree-style aesthetic may not exactly be an obvious choice for most gamers. And I think once you're at $14,000 for this configuration, you way as well pile another $5-8k on top and stick in an RTX 5090.

    But who am I to judge what you spend the thick end of $15,000 on? In the end, I suppose it's nice to know that the cost of living clearly doesn't apply to everyone. And, heck, this Cherry Blossom PC is only a little more expensive than the $18,000 AUD Medusa rig Aftershock built a few years back.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/usd14-000-for-a-pc-with-titanium-alloy-flowers-that-unfurl-as-your-system-temps-get-toasty-well-okay-then/ hmpv3S7fb5zezYaJDCWmVT Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:55:16 +0000 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:35:47 +0000 false false false

    RGB lighting? Storm-trooper-white styling? Real wood accents? Fuggedabowdit. What you really need to stand out in today's crowded custom PC market is heat-reactive titanium-alloy cherry blossoms that unfurl as your CPU and GPU temps climb. Yes, really.

    I give you the Cherry Bloom from Aussie PC maker Aftershock, a custom PC you can actually order today. To quote the company: "Inside the system, 70 handcrafted cherry blossoms made from a special heat-reactive titanium alloy open as the PC comes alive, turning power, temperature, lighting, and performance into a living showcase."

    It's a bit of a sidenote, but the rest of the specs involve an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, Nvidia RTX 5080 graphics, a 2 TB NVME drive from Lexar and 64 GB or memory. All told, you're looking at a retail price of $19,995 Australian dollars.

    That works out at a sniff over $14,000 in USD and about £10,000 in old money. That's a hill of cash, obviously. Okay, an RTX 5080 is about $1,500 alone these days, high performance DDR5 in that capacity is probably getting on for $1,500, the 2 TB Lexar SSD is nigh on $500, likewise the 9800X3D CPU.

    But even throwing in some fancy liquid cooling complete with a full curved display on the CPU block, a 1,300 W PSU and the APNX V2 White case (which provides wrap-around glass on three sides to ensure optimal viewing of the cherry blossom sculpture), you're at, what, about $8k for the titanium animated flowers? Still, at least those flowers should be reliable.

    Aftershock PC Cherry Bloom petal details

    (Image credit: Aftershock PC)

    After all, they don't use motors. Instead, the movement is a function of heat generated by the system components being conducted through the metal petals. Shut down and as the heat is dissipated, the petals will curl up, again.

    It's a pretty neat idea, even if the resulting bonsai-tree-style aesthetic may not exactly be an obvious choice for most gamers. And I think once you're at $14,000 for this configuration, you way as well pile another $5-8k on top and stick in an RTX 5090.

    But who am I to judge what you spend the thick end of $15,000 on? In the end, I suppose it's nice to know that the cost of living clearly doesn't apply to everyone. And, heck, this Cherry Blossom PC is only a little more expensive than the $18,000 AUD Medusa rig Aftershock built a few years back.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 review ]]>

    I've got to the point where I grimace when I see a listing for a gaming PC. The memory crisis has so severely gutted pricing and availability that I've found my eyes glazing over PCs whenever they're on the screen in front of me.

    One glance at our roundup of the best gaming PC deals shows that even getting a rig under $1,000 with a discrete graphics card is a bit of a struggle, and you are making significant compromises to get the price that… low. Okay, yes, it doesn't feel low, but that's the new normal. All praise our new AI overlords.

    And iBuyPower routinely features among the most budget rigs. That's because, be it smart compromises, the ability to buy in bulk, or a prayer to some sort of hardware god, its rigs are somewhat reasonable for prebuilds.

    The RDY Scale B06 I've had across my desk shoves a budget Intel CPU and budget Nvidia GPU into its surprisingly large case, alongside a pretty small SSD and single-channel memory.

    Buy if…

    ✅ You can wait for a sale: At MSRP, I would look elsewhere, but iBuyPower regularly runs decent sales, and there have been two on this specific rig in the last week. With a few hundred shaved off, it becomes a fairly competitive mainstream build.

    Don't buy if…

    ❌ You can afford a little more: The RTX 5060 GPU itself is a bit of a letdown, and though it will get solid enough 1080p gaming (and even 1440p at points), there are RTX 5070 machines not that far off this price.

    Features

    IBuyPower RDY Scale B06 specs

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 5 225F

    Motherboard

    Asus B860M Max Gaming AX WIFI

    Memory

    Team Group T-Force Delta 16 GB 5200 MHz CL40 (single stick)

    Storage

    1 TB Team Group T-Force G50

    Graphics card

    Asus Dual GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB

    Cooling

    iBuyPower RGB CPU Tower Air Cooler

    PSU

    600 watt 80 Plus Gold

    Front I/O

    2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 2.0 (Type-C), 1 x 3.5 mm microphone and headphone jacks

    Rear I/O

    4 x USB 2.0, 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5 Gbps Type-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 20 Gbps Type-C, mic in, line out, line in

    Networking

    Wi-Fi 6

    Dimensions

    470 x 492 x 220 mm

    Weight

    16.3 kg / 36 lbs

    Price

    $1,479 ($1,379 on sale)

    RDY is iBuyPower's preconfigured range, which means they are ready to ship pretty much the moment you hit 'buy'. As such, the RTX 5060 / Intel Core Ultra 5 225F model I've got my hands on is the only version of the B06 you can currently buy.

    For its relatively budget-friendly price, it makes some compromises, the biggest of which you will find in its memory and storage.

    The memory is DDR5, but with a CAS latency of 40 and overall speed of 5200 MT/s, it's not super fast. There's also only one stick, so you are taking a hit to performance over dual-channel memory of the same capacity. How much depends on the game or workload, but there will be a hit.

    Should you have the funds and the patience, you could technically track down a second module matching this same stick and bump your capacity up to 32 GB, but that's a hard sell, and was even before the memory crisis. Most of the time, you are better off selling a single stick and buying two (at a loss) if you're looking to upgrade, as it can be tough to track down the exact stick you need and even that doesn't guarantee compatibility.

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk

    (Image credit: Future)

    There's just 1 TB of storage in this machine. That is pretty much the minimum I would want in a gaming rig right now, especially when you consider the actual storage available to you will likely be 50-100 GB lower than 1 TB.

    The 1 TB in my rig translates to 952 GB. That doesn't include browsers and any other Windows apps. Then, you might have Steam, Epic Games, likely the Nvidia app, plus any drivers, and any other media apps like Spotify. By only downloading the games I used for the benchmarks below, I was left with around 300 GB on the drive.

    Now, we would have received twice the memory capacity for the price if it weren't for the memory crisis, but you have to expect to pay more for gaming PCs right now, and those compromises make some sense from iBuyPower.

    Performance

    This rig is a sign of how bad the memory crisis has gotten. Late last year, we checked out the Acer Predator Orion 3000, which was just $20 more, came with a full-fat RTX 5070, a better Intel chip for multithreaded workloads, and even came in a cute compact case.

    Because of that higher-tier GPU, the Orion outpaces this iBuyPower rig in every gaming test I conducted. Some by just a few frames, and some more convincingly so. Acer did make compromises here with PCIe 3.0 storage speed and 16 GB DDR4 memory, but it's still all in all a better rig, and a much more compact one. The caveat, though, is that while you can find RTX 5070 PCs at this price on occasion, they are becoming ever more rare, and this SKU of the Orion 3000 is nowhere to be seen these days.

    1440p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1440p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D
    42
    33
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F
    88
    43
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX
    44
    38
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D
    68
    27
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06
    36
    24
    0255075100
    Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (1440p Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D42 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F88 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX44 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D68 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B0636 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS

    The RTX 5060 is a solid 1080p card that becomes a decent 1440p one if you are willing to stomach a bit of frame generation or upscaling. Still, it's one of the weakest offerings of the RTX Blackwell generation.

    In our tests, I spotted similar scores to RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti rigs, and that's partly because this same price point would have gotten you better CPUs a few years ago to throw alongside it, but also because the generational leap between the RTX 40- and RTX 50-series isn't monumental.

    The RTX 5060 / Intel Core Ultra 5 225 F combo is decidedly budget, as far as modern offerings are concerned, and you will spot that in our gaming tests. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora at Ultra on 1440p barely cracks 30 fps, and the same is true for Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong. Upscaling makes these games much more playable, and the older Metro Exodus can stay around 60 fps.

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future

    The AtomMan G1 Pro, with its low-profile RTX 5060 and AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX, outperforms it in Avatar, but the Scale B06 takes the win in everything else. The G1 Pro is kitted out with 32 GB of DDR5 5200 memory. That is double the capacity of the Scale B06, and dual-channel. That means it has not only twice the capacity but twice the available bandwidth, too. But the Intel chip helps the iBuyPower PC pull through for the win.

    Notably, the 1% lows are almost the same for both rigs in Baldur's Gate 3, despite the Scale B06 easily outpacing the G1 Pro in average fps. That's likely down to the memory. Baldur's Gate 3 is quite a CPU-heavy game, and the slower, lower-capacity RAM is hindering what should be a much faster chip in the Scale B06.

    The Intel CPU in the Scale B06 has fewer physical cores and a lower boost clock than the 8645HX, but higher base clock speeds and a great L1 and L2 cache. In Cinebench, I saw a slightly higher single-core index for the Intel chip, but a significantly better multithread index for the AMD one. The Atomman G1 Pro has, however, gone up significantly in price even since our review in April.

    The RTX 4060 Ti ABS Cyclone Aqua we reviewed last year seems to outpace or match this 5060 rig in most tests, only firmly losing in the Black Myth: Wukong upscaling benchmark. And with the RTX 5060, you pretty much need to get used to some level of upscaling if you want a smooth experience in modern games. Upscaling technology has gotten much better over time, and so has frame generation, but it's still a pretty weak card as far as pure rasterisation is concerned.

    System performance

    The laptops are here tested against intensive benchmarks that mostly test the CPU, but also the GPU, for productivity tasks.

    CPU index
    GPU index
    Overall index
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D
    10593
    6124
    6555
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F
    7307
    10663
    9975
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX
    9435
    6380
    6705
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D
    6031
    14162
    11779
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06
    6051
    6536
    6458
    03,7507,50011,25015,000
    3DMark Time Spy Extreme Data
    ProductValue
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D10593 CPU index, 6124 GPU index, 6555 Overall index
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F7307 CPU index, 10663 GPU index, 9975 Overall index
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX9435 CPU index, 6380 GPU index, 6705 Overall index
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D6031 CPU index, 14162 GPU index, 11779 Overall index
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B066051 CPU index, 6536 GPU index, 6458 Overall index

    Outside of gaming, the Team Group T-Force G50 SSD is decently performant and speedy, clocking in an overall index score of well over 2,000 in 3DMark's storage test. Other creator tests don't perform quite as well, with the CPU at this machine's heart being fairly slow to handle a Handbrake video conversion, and sitting well behind the likes of the Aqua and G1 Pro in Time Spy Extreme and 7zip.

    Though single-core Cinebench scores are solid, multithread scores are lacking. This all means that if you're looking for a heavy-duty content creator machine, you'd best be looking elsewhere. In fairness, the single-channel memory should have already put you off, anyways.

    Thermals

    Real-world temperatures

    temperature results recorded in different testing suites

    Avg CPU Temp (°C)
    Max CPU Temp (°C)
    Avg GPU Temp (°C)
    Max GPU Temp (°C)
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D
    62
    79
    64
    40
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F
    63
    92
    65
    45
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX
    89
    91
    77
    67
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D
    63
    71
    60
    43
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06
    53
    59
    65
    67
    0255075100
    Gaming Temps Data
    ProductValue
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D62 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 79 Max CPU Temp (°C), 64 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 40 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F63 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 92 Max CPU Temp (°C), 65 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 45 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX89 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 91 Max CPU Temp (°C), 77 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 67 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D63 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 71 Max CPU Temp (°C), 60 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 43 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B0653 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 59 Max CPU Temp (°C), 65 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 67 Max GPU Temp (°C)

    Perhaps owing to the large capacity of the case allowing smooth, unblocked airflow, or partly due to the large fan on the CPU, or maybe because both the CPU and GPU are fairly low wattage, this rig is positively frosty. Measuring temperatures during our range of creator applications, it is among the coolest we've tried in recent times, sitting well below the iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07. Admittedly, the latter iBuyPower machine is much more powerful, but its max CPU temps are significantly under the RTX 4060-equipped Lenovo Legion Tower 5i (Gen 8), the RTX 4060 Ti ABS Cyclone Aqua, and the RTX 5060 AtomMan G1 Pro. In fairness, the AtomMan is a very compact build, so you would expect higher thermals.

    Still, the point stands that this iBuyPower handles its heat in a particularly cool fashion. Unfortunately, my model's motherboard doesn't appear to have a VRM temp sensor, so I couldn't grab those temperatures, but the CPU and SSD heats were very manageable in the creator suite.

    For gaming, it's much the same story, with the GPU only maxing out at 67 °C. This is particularly impressive because it averaged 65 °C. It's a similar story with the CPU, with both average and max sitting in the 50s.

    Aesthetics

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future

    The Scale B06 feels like an oddly large PC for what inside is a fairly compact build

    The Scale B06 feels like an oddly large PC for what inside is a fairly compact build. You don't have extra coolers hogging up space here, and the Asus RTX 5060 is a fairly small card, too. That means there is tons of empty space in the case. Its dimensions make it fairly similar to the Maingear MG-1 MK.II, but at least the Maingear with its overhead cooling and large RTX 5090 fits the space a bit better. Still, I suppose that means you can throw a few Hatsune Miku figures in the RDY Scale B06 and I'd be confident they won't melt.

    Other than the RGB fans and the iBuyPower logo slapped on the bottom of the front panel, the Scale B06 is fairly plain. It's just a big black case with a clear side panel. Though the RGB in the fans do give it a bit of a gamer look. My model has pretty great wiring, all funnelling through the back of the rig tidily, so it's super clean.

    The first time I unboxed it, the Scale B06 was a bit of a task to get on the PC Gamer test bench table. It's not only bulky, but quite heavy at 16 kg too. You are going to need quite a bit of space (and a few muscles) to fit it into your gaming den.

    One thing that surprised me when taking the panels of this PC off is that they aren't held in with screws. They are simply wedged into the side, but they require a bit of a yank to come out, which makes me feel comfortable that they won't just pop off and spread broken tempered glass all over the floor when a breeze comes through the office.

    Sound

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk

    (Image credit: Future)

    As far as sound is concerned, the B06 offers a downright pleasant experience, only ever rising to a light hum at its most intensive. That translates to around 40 decibels, which is light enough that even a relatively quiet office will drown it out. In a totally silent environment, you will definitely hear the Scale B06, but you have to accept that with pretty much any bit of hardware, especially one with so many parts.

    Even when I put my ear directly against the tempered glass while the rig was working its hardest, I could only make out a soft hum from the fans.

    Software

    My review rig showed up with a fresh Windows install, and the only other preinstalled software was Realtek audio drivers, Intel drivers, and the Nvidia app. iBuyPower doesn't appear to load the Scale B06 with its own software, and that's a boon given the size of modern PC games and the capacity left in the 1 TB drive that comes with it. It was easy to set up otherwise, and it took me mere minutes to get rid of Copilot and install Google Chrome.

    Value

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future

    Though the iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 retails at $1,479, it is currently available for $1,379 (and it was $100 less than that last week with a code). That puts it much closer to the rigs we tend to see in our roundup of the best gaming PC deals every week. But even then, it is outpaced by the iBuyPower Element SE, which is $80 less and comes with a better graphics card (RTX 5060 Ti) and a better gaming CPU (AMD Ryzen 7 9700F).

    Then, if you simply want an RTX 5060 rig, the ABS Cyclone Aqua offers that, plus 32 GB of DDR4 memory (more of it, but worse speed) and an Intel Core i5 14400F (another 10-core chip but with less cache) for $230 less. There are some compromises with this ABS build (as you will be making with pretty much any build right now), but its compromises are in good places.

    This is one of the hardest reviews I've ever written, because the market is ever-changing (for the worse)

    As you might expect from iBuyPower, it has thrown a gaming keyboard and mouse into the box, and you get a month of Xbox Game Pass with it too. I'd say the peripherals are decidedly meh, with the Chimera KM7 membrane keyboard feeling a bit too squishy and weak under the fingers, and the wired mouse being rather slow. But for something free in the box, that's slightly above what I was expecting. And the keyboard even comes with a media dial, which is a slight plus. If I spent my entire budget on the PC, I'd be happy enough using the mouse and keyboard until I got together the budget for something better.

    This is one of the hardest reviews I've ever written, because the market is ever-changing (for the worse), and this flux state means we have to accept less for more until at least 2027, and likely longer.

    So, to simplify things, I thought I'd ask myself, 'Would you buy this rig today if you absolutely had to get one?' and my answer would be 'definitely not for its full price'. However, I have seen this rig go as low as $1,280, and for that price, it does put up a fight among the most budget rigs. In fact, it could even eke out the Element SE and its RTX 5060 Ti at the right time.

    The only problem is that iBuyPower only seems to sell the RDY models via its own website, so you have less of a chance of picking one up at a big discount at Walmart or Best Buy. But giving more options for relatively reasonable prices is only a good thing in my book, and if it gives a potential buyer slightly more choice at the $1,000-$1,500 range, it's a solid enough addition to the market. iBuyPower has made some decent concessions for that price point; it's just a shame it has to do that in the first place

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/ibuypower-rdy-scale-b06-review/ CEAJpJw8cq5WJKzDDoWpq6 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:33:23 +0000 false false false

    I've got to the point where I grimace when I see a listing for a gaming PC. The memory crisis has so severely gutted pricing and availability that I've found my eyes glazing over PCs whenever they're on the screen in front of me.

    One glance at our roundup of the best gaming PC deals shows that even getting a rig under $1,000 with a discrete graphics card is a bit of a struggle, and you are making significant compromises to get the price that… low. Okay, yes, it doesn't feel low, but that's the new normal. All praise our new AI overlords.

    And iBuyPower routinely features among the most budget rigs. That's because, be it smart compromises, the ability to buy in bulk, or a prayer to some sort of hardware god, its rigs are somewhat reasonable for prebuilds.

    The RDY Scale B06 I've had across my desk shoves a budget Intel CPU and budget Nvidia GPU into its surprisingly large case, alongside a pretty small SSD and single-channel memory.

    Buy if…

    ✅ You can wait for a sale: At MSRP, I would look elsewhere, but iBuyPower regularly runs decent sales, and there have been two on this specific rig in the last week. With a few hundred shaved off, it becomes a fairly competitive mainstream build.

    Don't buy if…

    ❌ You can afford a little more: The RTX 5060 GPU itself is a bit of a letdown, and though it will get solid enough 1080p gaming (and even 1440p at points), there are RTX 5070 machines not that far off this price.

    Features

    IBuyPower RDY Scale B06 specs

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 5 225F

    Motherboard

    Asus B860M Max Gaming AX WIFI

    Memory

    Team Group T-Force Delta 16 GB 5200 MHz CL40 (single stick)

    Storage

    1 TB Team Group T-Force G50

    Graphics card

    Asus Dual GeForce RTX 5060 8 GB

    Cooling

    iBuyPower RGB CPU Tower Air Cooler

    PSU

    600 watt 80 Plus Gold

    Front I/O

    2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 2.0 (Type-C), 1 x 3.5 mm microphone and headphone jacks

    Rear I/O

    4 x USB 2.0, 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 5 Gbps Type-A, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 20 Gbps Type-C, mic in, line out, line in

    Networking

    Wi-Fi 6

    Dimensions

    470 x 492 x 220 mm

    Weight

    16.3 kg / 36 lbs

    Price

    $1,479 ($1,379 on sale)

    RDY is iBuyPower's preconfigured range, which means they are ready to ship pretty much the moment you hit 'buy'. As such, the RTX 5060 / Intel Core Ultra 5 225F model I've got my hands on is the only version of the B06 you can currently buy.

    For its relatively budget-friendly price, it makes some compromises, the biggest of which you will find in its memory and storage.

    The memory is DDR5, but with a CAS latency of 40 and overall speed of 5200 MT/s, it's not super fast. There's also only one stick, so you are taking a hit to performance over dual-channel memory of the same capacity. How much depends on the game or workload, but there will be a hit.

    Should you have the funds and the patience, you could technically track down a second module matching this same stick and bump your capacity up to 32 GB, but that's a hard sell, and was even before the memory crisis. Most of the time, you are better off selling a single stick and buying two (at a loss) if you're looking to upgrade, as it can be tough to track down the exact stick you need and even that doesn't guarantee compatibility.

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk

    (Image credit: Future)

    There's just 1 TB of storage in this machine. That is pretty much the minimum I would want in a gaming rig right now, especially when you consider the actual storage available to you will likely be 50-100 GB lower than 1 TB.

    The 1 TB in my rig translates to 952 GB. That doesn't include browsers and any other Windows apps. Then, you might have Steam, Epic Games, likely the Nvidia app, plus any drivers, and any other media apps like Spotify. By only downloading the games I used for the benchmarks below, I was left with around 300 GB on the drive.

    Now, we would have received twice the memory capacity for the price if it weren't for the memory crisis, but you have to expect to pay more for gaming PCs right now, and those compromises make some sense from iBuyPower.

    Performance

    This rig is a sign of how bad the memory crisis has gotten. Late last year, we checked out the Acer Predator Orion 3000, which was just $20 more, came with a full-fat RTX 5070, a better Intel chip for multithreaded workloads, and even came in a cute compact case.

    Because of that higher-tier GPU, the Orion outpaces this iBuyPower rig in every gaming test I conducted. Some by just a few frames, and some more convincingly so. Acer did make compromises here with PCIe 3.0 storage speed and 16 GB DDR4 memory, but it's still all in all a better rig, and a much more compact one. The caveat, though, is that while you can find RTX 5070 PCs at this price on occasion, they are becoming ever more rare, and this SKU of the Orion 3000 is nowhere to be seen these days.

    1440p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1440p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D
    42
    33
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F
    88
    43
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX
    44
    38
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D
    68
    27
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06
    36
    24
    0255075100
    Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (1440p Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D42 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F88 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX44 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D68 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B0636 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS

    The RTX 5060 is a solid 1080p card that becomes a decent 1440p one if you are willing to stomach a bit of frame generation or upscaling. Still, it's one of the weakest offerings of the RTX Blackwell generation.

    In our tests, I spotted similar scores to RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti rigs, and that's partly because this same price point would have gotten you better CPUs a few years ago to throw alongside it, but also because the generational leap between the RTX 40- and RTX 50-series isn't monumental.

    The RTX 5060 / Intel Core Ultra 5 225 F combo is decidedly budget, as far as modern offerings are concerned, and you will spot that in our gaming tests. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora at Ultra on 1440p barely cracks 30 fps, and the same is true for Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong. Upscaling makes these games much more playable, and the older Metro Exodus can stay around 60 fps.

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future

    The AtomMan G1 Pro, with its low-profile RTX 5060 and AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX, outperforms it in Avatar, but the Scale B06 takes the win in everything else. The G1 Pro is kitted out with 32 GB of DDR5 5200 memory. That is double the capacity of the Scale B06, and dual-channel. That means it has not only twice the capacity but twice the available bandwidth, too. But the Intel chip helps the iBuyPower PC pull through for the win.

    Notably, the 1% lows are almost the same for both rigs in Baldur's Gate 3, despite the Scale B06 easily outpacing the G1 Pro in average fps. That's likely down to the memory. Baldur's Gate 3 is quite a CPU-heavy game, and the slower, lower-capacity RAM is hindering what should be a much faster chip in the Scale B06.

    The Intel CPU in the Scale B06 has fewer physical cores and a lower boost clock than the 8645HX, but higher base clock speeds and a great L1 and L2 cache. In Cinebench, I saw a slightly higher single-core index for the Intel chip, but a significantly better multithread index for the AMD one. The Atomman G1 Pro has, however, gone up significantly in price even since our review in April.

    The RTX 4060 Ti ABS Cyclone Aqua we reviewed last year seems to outpace or match this 5060 rig in most tests, only firmly losing in the Black Myth: Wukong upscaling benchmark. And with the RTX 5060, you pretty much need to get used to some level of upscaling if you want a smooth experience in modern games. Upscaling technology has gotten much better over time, and so has frame generation, but it's still a pretty weak card as far as pure rasterisation is concerned.

    System performance

    The laptops are here tested against intensive benchmarks that mostly test the CPU, but also the GPU, for productivity tasks.

    CPU index
    GPU index
    Overall index
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D
    10593
    6124
    6555
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F
    7307
    10663
    9975
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX
    9435
    6380
    6705
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D
    6031
    14162
    11779
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06
    6051
    6536
    6458
    03,7507,50011,25015,000
    3DMark Time Spy Extreme Data
    ProductValue
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D10593 CPU index, 6124 GPU index, 6555 Overall index
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F7307 CPU index, 10663 GPU index, 9975 Overall index
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX9435 CPU index, 6380 GPU index, 6705 Overall index
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D6031 CPU index, 14162 GPU index, 11779 Overall index
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B066051 CPU index, 6536 GPU index, 6458 Overall index

    Outside of gaming, the Team Group T-Force G50 SSD is decently performant and speedy, clocking in an overall index score of well over 2,000 in 3DMark's storage test. Other creator tests don't perform quite as well, with the CPU at this machine's heart being fairly slow to handle a Handbrake video conversion, and sitting well behind the likes of the Aqua and G1 Pro in Time Spy Extreme and 7zip.

    Though single-core Cinebench scores are solid, multithread scores are lacking. This all means that if you're looking for a heavy-duty content creator machine, you'd best be looking elsewhere. In fairness, the single-channel memory should have already put you off, anyways.

    Thermals

    Real-world temperatures

    temperature results recorded in different testing suites

    Avg CPU Temp (°C)
    Max CPU Temp (°C)
    Avg GPU Temp (°C)
    Max GPU Temp (°C)
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D
    62
    79
    64
    40
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F
    63
    92
    65
    45
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX
    89
    91
    77
    67
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D
    63
    71
    60
    43
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06
    53
    59
    65
    67
    0255075100
    Gaming Temps Data
    ProductValue
    ABS Cyclone Aqua | RTX 4060 Ti | 7800X3D62 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 79 Max CPU Temp (°C), 64 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 40 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    Acer Predator Orion 3000 I RTX 5070 I 14700F63 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 92 Max CPU Temp (°C), 65 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 45 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    AtomMan G1 Pro | RTX 5060 | 8945HX89 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 91 Max CPU Temp (°C), 77 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 67 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | 7800X3D63 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 71 Max CPU Temp (°C), 60 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 43 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B0653 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 59 Max CPU Temp (°C), 65 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 67 Max GPU Temp (°C)

    Perhaps owing to the large capacity of the case allowing smooth, unblocked airflow, or partly due to the large fan on the CPU, or maybe because both the CPU and GPU are fairly low wattage, this rig is positively frosty. Measuring temperatures during our range of creator applications, it is among the coolest we've tried in recent times, sitting well below the iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07. Admittedly, the latter iBuyPower machine is much more powerful, but its max CPU temps are significantly under the RTX 4060-equipped Lenovo Legion Tower 5i (Gen 8), the RTX 4060 Ti ABS Cyclone Aqua, and the RTX 5060 AtomMan G1 Pro. In fairness, the AtomMan is a very compact build, so you would expect higher thermals.

    Still, the point stands that this iBuyPower handles its heat in a particularly cool fashion. Unfortunately, my model's motherboard doesn't appear to have a VRM temp sensor, so I couldn't grab those temperatures, but the CPU and SSD heats were very manageable in the creator suite.

    For gaming, it's much the same story, with the GPU only maxing out at 67 °C. This is particularly impressive because it averaged 65 °C. It's a similar story with the CPU, with both average and max sitting in the 50s.

    Aesthetics

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future

    The Scale B06 feels like an oddly large PC for what inside is a fairly compact build

    The Scale B06 feels like an oddly large PC for what inside is a fairly compact build. You don't have extra coolers hogging up space here, and the Asus RTX 5060 is a fairly small card, too. That means there is tons of empty space in the case. Its dimensions make it fairly similar to the Maingear MG-1 MK.II, but at least the Maingear with its overhead cooling and large RTX 5090 fits the space a bit better. Still, I suppose that means you can throw a few Hatsune Miku figures in the RDY Scale B06 and I'd be confident they won't melt.

    Other than the RGB fans and the iBuyPower logo slapped on the bottom of the front panel, the Scale B06 is fairly plain. It's just a big black case with a clear side panel. Though the RGB in the fans do give it a bit of a gamer look. My model has pretty great wiring, all funnelling through the back of the rig tidily, so it's super clean.

    The first time I unboxed it, the Scale B06 was a bit of a task to get on the PC Gamer test bench table. It's not only bulky, but quite heavy at 16 kg too. You are going to need quite a bit of space (and a few muscles) to fit it into your gaming den.

    One thing that surprised me when taking the panels of this PC off is that they aren't held in with screws. They are simply wedged into the side, but they require a bit of a yank to come out, which makes me feel comfortable that they won't just pop off and spread broken tempered glass all over the floor when a breeze comes through the office.

    Sound

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk

    (Image credit: Future)

    As far as sound is concerned, the B06 offers a downright pleasant experience, only ever rising to a light hum at its most intensive. That translates to around 40 decibels, which is light enough that even a relatively quiet office will drown it out. In a totally silent environment, you will definitely hear the Scale B06, but you have to accept that with pretty much any bit of hardware, especially one with so many parts.

    Even when I put my ear directly against the tempered glass while the rig was working its hardest, I could only make out a soft hum from the fans.

    Software

    My review rig showed up with a fresh Windows install, and the only other preinstalled software was Realtek audio drivers, Intel drivers, and the Nvidia app. iBuyPower doesn't appear to load the Scale B06 with its own software, and that's a boon given the size of modern PC games and the capacity left in the 1 TB drive that comes with it. It was easy to set up otherwise, and it took me mere minutes to get rid of Copilot and install Google Chrome.

    Value

    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future
    iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 gaming pc on a wooden desk
    Future

    Though the iBuyPower RDY Scale B06 retails at $1,479, it is currently available for $1,379 (and it was $100 less than that last week with a code). That puts it much closer to the rigs we tend to see in our roundup of the best gaming PC deals every week. But even then, it is outpaced by the iBuyPower Element SE, which is $80 less and comes with a better graphics card (RTX 5060 Ti) and a better gaming CPU (AMD Ryzen 7 9700F).

    Then, if you simply want an RTX 5060 rig, the ABS Cyclone Aqua offers that, plus 32 GB of DDR4 memory (more of it, but worse speed) and an Intel Core i5 14400F (another 10-core chip but with less cache) for $230 less. There are some compromises with this ABS build (as you will be making with pretty much any build right now), but its compromises are in good places.

    This is one of the hardest reviews I've ever written, because the market is ever-changing (for the worse)

    As you might expect from iBuyPower, it has thrown a gaming keyboard and mouse into the box, and you get a month of Xbox Game Pass with it too. I'd say the peripherals are decidedly meh, with the Chimera KM7 membrane keyboard feeling a bit too squishy and weak under the fingers, and the wired mouse being rather slow. But for something free in the box, that's slightly above what I was expecting. And the keyboard even comes with a media dial, which is a slight plus. If I spent my entire budget on the PC, I'd be happy enough using the mouse and keyboard until I got together the budget for something better.

    This is one of the hardest reviews I've ever written, because the market is ever-changing (for the worse), and this flux state means we have to accept less for more until at least 2027, and likely longer.

    So, to simplify things, I thought I'd ask myself, 'Would you buy this rig today if you absolutely had to get one?' and my answer would be 'definitely not for its full price'. However, I have seen this rig go as low as $1,280, and for that price, it does put up a fight among the most budget rigs. In fact, it could even eke out the Element SE and its RTX 5060 Ti at the right time.

    The only problem is that iBuyPower only seems to sell the RDY models via its own website, so you have less of a chance of picking one up at a big discount at Walmart or Best Buy. But giving more options for relatively reasonable prices is only a good thing in my book, and if it gives a potential buyer slightly more choice at the $1,000-$1,500 range, it's a solid enough addition to the market. iBuyPower has made some decent concessions for that price point; it's just a shame it has to do that in the first place

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ HP Omen 35L (2026) gaming PC review ]]> In case you were wondering, the HP Omen 35L really is 35 litres. Take off your shoes and socks and do the maths, the dimensions are somewhere on this page: HP has named its compactish gaming PC rather sensibly, and while there's no way this could ever be called SFF (it's about the size of two Fractal Terras stacked on top of one another, or just over three large watermelons if you squish them a bit) it's certainly not huge.

    And it's very nicely made. The one we've got here comes in black, though there have been white variants of the 35L in the past, and the glass front and side panels allow you to see the glory of the RGB fans and CPU pump as they swish away. The mATX motherboard contains two RAM slots, both of which are filled, and there's a spare M.2 for an extra SSD if you don't mind removing the GPU to get at it, but the empty PCIe slot at the bottom is so close to the graphics card shroud you're not going to get much in there.

    AMD says AM5 should be good for up to Zen 7, however, so there's scope for some upgrades here as long as you don't mind replacing all the RAM—it's 32 GB of 6000MT/s across the two sticks right now, so there should be some headroom.

    Omen 35L specs

    CPU

    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

    NPU

    none

    Graphics

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070Ti (16 GB)

    Memory

    32 GB DDR5-6000 MT/s

    Storage

    1 TB SSD

    Ports

    4x USB2, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x 2.5Gb Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm audio; 3x DisplayPort 2.1b and 1x HDMI 2.1b on graphics card

    Wireless connectivity

    Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

    Dimensions

    21 x 41 x 41 cm

    Weight

    14.5 kg

    Price

    £2599.99 or $3,199.99

    Buy if...

    ✅ The sight of a screwdriver brings you out in purple spots: PC gaming has long been a DIY hobby, but there's no shame in picking up a pre-built and diving straight into the best PC gaming has to offer.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You need portability or the bleeding edge: This is a high-performance PC designed to hit a price that's high but not too high, and with a little room inside for upgrades, could be your gaming friend for years.

    On the outside of the case you'll be disappointed if you're expecting USB4—it's not here, and the Type-C ports top out at 10Gbps. Retro peripheral enthusiasts will be pleased by the four USB2 ports, though three of them are likely to remain unused by most users. There's just enough I/O here to make the 35L useful, with top-mounted ports that are easy to reach right next to the power button. On the back, there's no HDMI for the CPU's integrated graphics—it uses a USB-C's DP mode instead—but you'll be more interested in the trio of DisplayPort and single HDMI of the GeForce card anyway. This arrangement should at least prevent that embarrassing scenario where you plug your monitor into the integrated GPU by mistake and wonder why your games won't run nicely.

    1 / 2

    1440p gaming performance

    Testing our benchmarking suite at the PC gaming sweet spot resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    99
    66
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 4080 Super | Core Ultra 7 265K
    92.5
    70
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 7 7800X3D
    68
    27
    Custom PC build | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    82
    46
    Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (1440p Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D99 Avg FPS, 66 1% Low FPS
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 4080 Super | Core Ultra 7 265K92.5 Avg FPS, 70 1% Low FPS
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 7 7800X3D68 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
    Custom PC build | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D82 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS

    The games do run, however, and they run a little faster than the last Omen 35L PCG reviewed back at the beginning of 2025, which paired a Core Ultra 7 265K with an RTX 4080 Super and a larger 2 TB SSD. That PC was a little bit cheaper at the time, a difference of about 10% on the US dollar prices, with two years' worth of inflation and all this *gestures around wildly* to blame for the increase. You're getting an extra two frames per second (2.73%) in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p with upscaling off for your money.

    That's assuming you upgrade your 35L every time a new one comes out, and most people probably don't do that. Though if you do, write in and the hardware team will refer you to one of their legion of therapists. For anyone coming from a RTX 20- or 30-series Nvidia card, however, it's going to be a major step up.

    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future

    A pre-built desktop system like this is PC gaming on easy mode.

    It's certainly a very quiet machine. The case fans spin all the time, though they do switch the RGB off on occasion, and all they're doing is feeding air over the motherboard heatsinks and to the GPU cooler, as the CPU is under a water block that sends its heat out the top of the case through a 240 mm radiator. Work it hard and all you'll hear is a rushing sound like wind through trees that doesn't stop, the working of the pump and the motors in the fans largely unnoticeable—of the PCG benchmark suite, it's only Time Spy Extreme that really gets it fired up, and only then near the end. It's a system that keeps everything very nice and cool in our tests, with even the idea of 70°C something neither the CPU nor GPU is prepared to entertain during a Metro Exodus run.

    Thermals

    Temperature of the core components during a stress testing game run

    Gaming Temps

    Avg CPU Temp (°C)
    Max CPU Temp (°C)
    Avg GPU Temp (°C)
    Max GPU Temp (°C)
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    60
    66
    60
    66
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 4080 Super | Core Ultra 7 265K
    52
    62
    54
    33
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 7 7800X3D
    63
    71
    60
    43
    Custom PC build | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    67
    74
    69
    53
    Gaming Temps Data
    ProductValue
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D60 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 66 Max CPU Temp (°C), 60 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 66 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 4080 Super | Core Ultra 7 265K52 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 62 Max CPU Temp (°C), 54 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 33 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 7 7800X3D63 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 71 Max CPU Temp (°C), 60 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 43 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    Custom PC build | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D67 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 74 Max CPU Temp (°C), 69 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 53 Max GPU Temp (°C)

    Metro is always an interesting case study as it puts a lot of strain on a PC's CPU. The best results in testing for this game come from AMD CPUs, with the X3D models rising to the top, and so it proves here with the 35L's results coming within a whisker of an almost identically-specced custom system created for PCG's print magazine. The only desktop PC that beats the 35L (in this test, out of the systems PCG has tested) is an NZXT Player Three Prime that pairs an RTX 5090 with a 9800X3D, and which costs a lot more than the Omen 35L. In a game of diminishing returns, an extra 19fps for $1800 is well up there when you're already producing over 170.

    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future

    This all goes to show why the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is still PCG's favourite desktop processor, even though the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D now exists. Despite being built on AMD's latest architecture it's practically old-fashioned, having only one type of core, no NPU, and hyper-threading (SMT) enabled, yet trashes the competition in pre-built or DIY machines when paired with a suitable GPU.

    Buying a pre-built desktop system like this is, in many ways, PC gaming on easy mode. You plug it in, it works, you get great results—there's no obsessive selection of parts, no creation of multiple lists, and certainly no screwdrivers. It may take a bit of the fun out of getting a new PC, but at least it's not a laptop.

    The question of value will hang over the Omen 35L, especially with component prices the way they are right now. It's not a bargain system, but it sure is cheaper than something like the Maingear MG-1 Mk.II, and can at least cool its CPU effectively. What you get for that money hits pretty close to a price/performance sweetspot, though, and that's got to be worth a look.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/hp-omen-35l-2026-review/ FtXRQMoHsPChLGv29QeNmN Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:34:51 +0000 Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:15:37 +0000 false false false

    In case you were wondering, the HP Omen 35L really is 35 litres. Take off your shoes and socks and do the maths, the dimensions are somewhere on this page: HP has named its compactish gaming PC rather sensibly, and while there's no way this could ever be called SFF (it's about the size of two Fractal Terras stacked on top of one another, or just over three large watermelons if you squish them a bit) it's certainly not huge.

    And it's very nicely made. The one we've got here comes in black, though there have been white variants of the 35L in the past, and the glass front and side panels allow you to see the glory of the RGB fans and CPU pump as they swish away. The mATX motherboard contains two RAM slots, both of which are filled, and there's a spare M.2 for an extra SSD if you don't mind removing the GPU to get at it, but the empty PCIe slot at the bottom is so close to the graphics card shroud you're not going to get much in there.

    AMD says AM5 should be good for up to Zen 7, however, so there's scope for some upgrades here as long as you don't mind replacing all the RAM—it's 32 GB of 6000MT/s across the two sticks right now, so there should be some headroom.

    Omen 35L specs

    CPU

    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D

    NPU

    none

    Graphics

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070Ti (16 GB)

    Memory

    32 GB DDR5-6000 MT/s

    Storage

    1 TB SSD

    Ports

    4x USB2, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x 2.5Gb Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm audio; 3x DisplayPort 2.1b and 1x HDMI 2.1b on graphics card

    Wireless connectivity

    Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

    Dimensions

    21 x 41 x 41 cm

    Weight

    14.5 kg

    Price

    £2599.99 or $3,199.99

    Buy if...

    ✅ The sight of a screwdriver brings you out in purple spots: PC gaming has long been a DIY hobby, but there's no shame in picking up a pre-built and diving straight into the best PC gaming has to offer.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You need portability or the bleeding edge: This is a high-performance PC designed to hit a price that's high but not too high, and with a little room inside for upgrades, could be your gaming friend for years.

    On the outside of the case you'll be disappointed if you're expecting USB4—it's not here, and the Type-C ports top out at 10Gbps. Retro peripheral enthusiasts will be pleased by the four USB2 ports, though three of them are likely to remain unused by most users. There's just enough I/O here to make the 35L useful, with top-mounted ports that are easy to reach right next to the power button. On the back, there's no HDMI for the CPU's integrated graphics—it uses a USB-C's DP mode instead—but you'll be more interested in the trio of DisplayPort and single HDMI of the GeForce card anyway. This arrangement should at least prevent that embarrassing scenario where you plug your monitor into the integrated GPU by mistake and wonder why your games won't run nicely.

    1 / 2

    1440p gaming performance

    Testing our benchmarking suite at the PC gaming sweet spot resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    99
    66
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 4080 Super | Core Ultra 7 265K
    92.5
    70
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 7 7800X3D
    68
    27
    Custom PC build | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    82
    46
    Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (1440p Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D99 Avg FPS, 66 1% Low FPS
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 4080 Super | Core Ultra 7 265K92.5 Avg FPS, 70 1% Low FPS
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 7 7800X3D68 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
    Custom PC build | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D82 Avg FPS, 46 1% Low FPS

    The games do run, however, and they run a little faster than the last Omen 35L PCG reviewed back at the beginning of 2025, which paired a Core Ultra 7 265K with an RTX 4080 Super and a larger 2 TB SSD. That PC was a little bit cheaper at the time, a difference of about 10% on the US dollar prices, with two years' worth of inflation and all this *gestures around wildly* to blame for the increase. You're getting an extra two frames per second (2.73%) in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p with upscaling off for your money.

    That's assuming you upgrade your 35L every time a new one comes out, and most people probably don't do that. Though if you do, write in and the hardware team will refer you to one of their legion of therapists. For anyone coming from a RTX 20- or 30-series Nvidia card, however, it's going to be a major step up.

    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future

    A pre-built desktop system like this is PC gaming on easy mode.

    It's certainly a very quiet machine. The case fans spin all the time, though they do switch the RGB off on occasion, and all they're doing is feeding air over the motherboard heatsinks and to the GPU cooler, as the CPU is under a water block that sends its heat out the top of the case through a 240 mm radiator. Work it hard and all you'll hear is a rushing sound like wind through trees that doesn't stop, the working of the pump and the motors in the fans largely unnoticeable—of the PCG benchmark suite, it's only Time Spy Extreme that really gets it fired up, and only then near the end. It's a system that keeps everything very nice and cool in our tests, with even the idea of 70°C something neither the CPU nor GPU is prepared to entertain during a Metro Exodus run.

    Thermals

    Temperature of the core components during a stress testing game run

    Gaming Temps

    Avg CPU Temp (°C)
    Max CPU Temp (°C)
    Avg GPU Temp (°C)
    Max GPU Temp (°C)
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    60
    66
    60
    66
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 4080 Super | Core Ultra 7 265K
    52
    62
    54
    33
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 7 7800X3D
    63
    71
    60
    43
    Custom PC build | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    67
    74
    69
    53
    Gaming Temps Data
    ProductValue
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D60 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 66 Max CPU Temp (°C), 60 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 66 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    HP Omen 35L | RTX 4080 Super | Core Ultra 7 265K52 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 62 Max CPU Temp (°C), 54 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 33 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    iBuyPower RDY Element 9 Pro R07 | RX 9070 XT | Ryzen 7 7800X3D63 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 71 Max CPU Temp (°C), 60 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 43 Max GPU Temp (°C)
    Custom PC build | RTX 5070 Ti | Ryzen 7 9800X3D67 Avg CPU Temp (°C), 74 Max CPU Temp (°C), 69 Avg GPU Temp (°C), 53 Max GPU Temp (°C)

    Metro is always an interesting case study as it puts a lot of strain on a PC's CPU. The best results in testing for this game come from AMD CPUs, with the X3D models rising to the top, and so it proves here with the 35L's results coming within a whisker of an almost identically-specced custom system created for PCG's print magazine. The only desktop PC that beats the 35L (in this test, out of the systems PCG has tested) is an NZXT Player Three Prime that pairs an RTX 5090 with a 9800X3D, and which costs a lot more than the Omen 35L. In a game of diminishing returns, an extra 19fps for $1800 is well up there when you're already producing over 170.

    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future
    HP Omen 35L gaming PC
    Future

    This all goes to show why the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is still PCG's favourite desktop processor, even though the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D now exists. Despite being built on AMD's latest architecture it's practically old-fashioned, having only one type of core, no NPU, and hyper-threading (SMT) enabled, yet trashes the competition in pre-built or DIY machines when paired with a suitable GPU.

    Buying a pre-built desktop system like this is, in many ways, PC gaming on easy mode. You plug it in, it works, you get great results—there's no obsessive selection of parts, no creation of multiple lists, and certainly no screwdrivers. It may take a bit of the fun out of getting a new PC, but at least it's not a laptop.

    The question of value will hang over the Omen 35L, especially with component prices the way they are right now. It's not a bargain system, but it sure is cheaper than something like the Maingear MG-1 Mk.II, and can at least cool its CPU effectively. What you get for that money hits pretty close to a price/performance sweetspot, though, and that's got to be worth a look.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ The Steam Deck 2 has 'not really' been impacted by the memory supply crisis, with Valve still focused on a 'very delineated performance improvement' for its next handheld ]]> With the release of the new Steam Controller, the Steam Machine, and now the Steam Frame VR headset, this year has been chock-full of Valve hardware releases. So, what could possibly be next—the Steam Deck 2? To some extent, sure; Valve has been "hard at work" on its next handheld gaming PC pretty much since the original Steam Deck launched back in 2022. What's surprising, though, is that Valve claims the RAMpocalypse hasn't hugely affected its plans.

    Despite the clear impact on the pricing of both the Steam Machine and the Steam Frame, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais told IGN that the memory supply crisis has "not really" affected the company's plans for the Steam Deck successor. He added, "We've talked before about how we want to make sure there's a very delineated performance improvement for something like a future Steam Deck, and I think we're still looking at it in the same way."

    "It's just a matter of looking at the current conditions and seeing how and when we can deliver something like that," Griffais says, "But from what we're working on, as far as the user experience goes and what the product that we're trying to build goes, it's very similar goals."

    Valve has been saying as far back as 2023 that it was waiting for "a generational leap in performance" to justify a follow-up, so that part of the strategy has remained consistent. That the company isn't rushing to push out an overpriced Steam Deck successor is arguably no bad thing either, especially given that the price for the 1 TB version of the original Steam Deck has now ballooned to $949.

    It's good to hear that the Deck 2 is still being worked on despite the ongoing memory shortage. The Steam Frame and Steam Machine were already announced and shown off essentially as finished products late last year, so those would be hard (but not impossible) to back out of. Although Valve has said it's working on a Steam Deck 2, it doesn't seem to be quite so close to release, and concerns that the company could bin the project are a bit more pertinent than with the other products.

    Valve's new VR headset, the Steam Frame, with accessories.

    (Image credit: Valve)

    Valve obviously won't attempt to squeeze the launch of the Steam Deck 2 into an already packed year, but the memory supply crisis has likely pushed the handheld's release further out too.

    But just how far out could a Steam Deck 2 release be? Well, Valve itself does not see an imminent end to the supply crisis, though some major memory players predict things could improve around late 2027 or early 2028 thanks to a surge in Chinese capacity. Other predictions suggest we should only be so lucky, with both SK hynix's CEO and Phison's CEO saying demand could continue to outstrip supply until 2030.

    In light of those circumstances, 'not really' feels a bit like an exercise in measured understatement to me. At any rate, here's hoping we're not waiting until 2030 for a Steam Deck successor.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/the-steam-deck-2-has-not-really-been-impacted-by-the-memory-supply-crisis-with-valve-still-focused-on-a-very-delineated-performance-improvement-for-its-next-handheld/ o74NqkPHbVfgwMtugGuFnb Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:42:38 +0000 Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:42:42 +0000 false false false

    With the release of the new Steam Controller, the Steam Machine, and now the Steam Frame VR headset, this year has been chock-full of Valve hardware releases. So, what could possibly be next—the Steam Deck 2? To some extent, sure; Valve has been "hard at work" on its next handheld gaming PC pretty much since the original Steam Deck launched back in 2022. What's surprising, though, is that Valve claims the RAMpocalypse hasn't hugely affected its plans.

    Despite the clear impact on the pricing of both the Steam Machine and the Steam Frame, Valve engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais told IGN that the memory supply crisis has "not really" affected the company's plans for the Steam Deck successor. He added, "We've talked before about how we want to make sure there's a very delineated performance improvement for something like a future Steam Deck, and I think we're still looking at it in the same way."

    "It's just a matter of looking at the current conditions and seeing how and when we can deliver something like that," Griffais says, "But from what we're working on, as far as the user experience goes and what the product that we're trying to build goes, it's very similar goals."

    Valve has been saying as far back as 2023 that it was waiting for "a generational leap in performance" to justify a follow-up, so that part of the strategy has remained consistent. That the company isn't rushing to push out an overpriced Steam Deck successor is arguably no bad thing either, especially given that the price for the 1 TB version of the original Steam Deck has now ballooned to $949.

    It's good to hear that the Deck 2 is still being worked on despite the ongoing memory shortage. The Steam Frame and Steam Machine were already announced and shown off essentially as finished products late last year, so those would be hard (but not impossible) to back out of. Although Valve has said it's working on a Steam Deck 2, it doesn't seem to be quite so close to release, and concerns that the company could bin the project are a bit more pertinent than with the other products.

    Valve's new VR headset, the Steam Frame, with accessories.

    (Image credit: Valve)

    Valve obviously won't attempt to squeeze the launch of the Steam Deck 2 into an already packed year, but the memory supply crisis has likely pushed the handheld's release further out too.

    But just how far out could a Steam Deck 2 release be? Well, Valve itself does not see an imminent end to the supply crisis, though some major memory players predict things could improve around late 2027 or early 2028 thanks to a surge in Chinese capacity. Other predictions suggest we should only be so lucky, with both SK hynix's CEO and Phison's CEO saying demand could continue to outstrip supply until 2030.

    In light of those circumstances, 'not really' feels a bit like an exercise in measured understatement to me. At any rate, here's hoping we're not waiting until 2030 for a Steam Deck successor.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Someone made a copper gaming PC Frankensteined out of an old blowtorch and other assorted parts and is 'just going to let it tarnish over time' ]]>
    Custom Copper 9070xt, 9800x3d Build
     from r/pcmasterrace

    There's being into PC hardware and then there's crafting a glorious custom loop. Every time I see the latter I'm hit with a pang of jealousy, and it's no different here with Old-Mate-Fetus' custom copper build on Reddit.

    We highlighted a similarly impressive different custom copper PC a few months ago. This latest copper build looks a little more extravagant to my eyes, and I'm not sure which I prefer.

    In the centre is an Alphacool Core RX 9070 XT cooling block. Presumably it is the Aorus Elite version, given the Redditor says the motherboard is a Gigabyte B650M Aurous Elite Wifi.

    Here's the full list of components (with perhaps slight variations from the specific models linked, which I have added):

    According to Old-Mate-Fetus, the build weighs close to 20 kg.

    The most eye-catching part of the build for me, and what sets it apart from other copper builds I've seen, is that blowtorch. Reminiscent of one of those handheld oil drippers mechanics use, but with a glorious copper sheen, plus a bunch of pipes poking out of it. It makes the whole thing look very artsy.

    In another comment, the Redditor says they're "just going to let it tarnish over time, i quite like the look."

    You won't catch me repurposing old PSU cables and blowtorches for a PC build anytime soon, but it's cool to see someone with the guts doing so and sharing the result—not mention, then using it to play Overwatch, judging by the corner of the screen: good choice.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/someone-made-a-copper-gaming-pc-frankensteined-out-of-an-old-blowtorch-and-other-assorted-parts-and-is-just-going-to-let-it-tarnish-over-time/ nfND8oSCdZW5DFAXsymR2d Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:43:04 +0000 false false false
    Custom Copper 9070xt, 9800x3d Build
     from r/pcmasterrace

    There's being into PC hardware and then there's crafting a glorious custom loop. Every time I see the latter I'm hit with a pang of jealousy, and it's no different here with Old-Mate-Fetus' custom copper build on Reddit.

    We highlighted a similarly impressive different custom copper PC a few months ago. This latest copper build looks a little more extravagant to my eyes, and I'm not sure which I prefer.

    In the centre is an Alphacool Core RX 9070 XT cooling block. Presumably it is the Aorus Elite version, given the Redditor says the motherboard is a Gigabyte B650M Aurous Elite Wifi.

    Here's the full list of components (with perhaps slight variations from the specific models linked, which I have added):

    According to Old-Mate-Fetus, the build weighs close to 20 kg.

    The most eye-catching part of the build for me, and what sets it apart from other copper builds I've seen, is that blowtorch. Reminiscent of one of those handheld oil drippers mechanics use, but with a glorious copper sheen, plus a bunch of pipes poking out of it. It makes the whole thing look very artsy.

    In another comment, the Redditor says they're "just going to let it tarnish over time, i quite like the look."

    You won't catch me repurposing old PSU cables and blowtorches for a PC build anytime soon, but it's cool to see someone with the guts doing so and sharing the result—not mention, then using it to play Overwatch, judging by the corner of the screen: good choice.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ PSA: Keep social media trends away from your laptops, unless you want broken hinges ]]>
    Hinge broke after using laptop upside down
     from r/Asustuf

    Listen, I've not always been a paragon of common sense; I once managed to bend pins on not one but two CPUs when upgrading my then-partner's PC and my own—a two-for-one in sheer-faced idiocy, all within the space of an hour. So don't consider this me preaching from on high. But seriously, not everything you see on social media needs to be tried.

    A case in point is something I had my attention reluctantly dragged towards by Wccftech: a Redditor who has broken their gaming laptop hinge by standing it upside down, per Instagram reel and video setups they'd seen. Whatever could go wrong?

    Snapping, that's what. Laptops aren't usually designed to support resting on the top of the screen. "The other hinge," the Redditor says, "also broke but it snapped back in. This one does not."

    Mind you, I'm not sure any of my pleas would have been listened to even if they were uttered beforehand. The Redditor explains:

    "People on Reddit on my last post were saying that the hinges could break, but I didn’t really pay attention to that. Yeah it might be ggs and this laptop ain’t even mine."

    The laptop is presumably an Asus TUF laptop of some kind, given it's on the Asus TUF subreddit. I use a TUF laptop every day, so seeing this gives me a particularly sharp pang of pain.

    Anyways, I won't belabour the point given it's a simple one: try not to do things you're not supposed to with your expensive devices. And if you do, don't be surprised if it goes awry.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/psa-keep-social-media-trends-away-from-your-laptops-unless-you-want-broken-hinges/ xY5TkiXWsp6H59VdYaEGM4 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:58:34 +0000 Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:06:23 +0000 false false false
    Hinge broke after using laptop upside down
     from r/Asustuf

    Listen, I've not always been a paragon of common sense; I once managed to bend pins on not one but two CPUs when upgrading my then-partner's PC and my own—a two-for-one in sheer-faced idiocy, all within the space of an hour. So don't consider this me preaching from on high. But seriously, not everything you see on social media needs to be tried.

    A case in point is something I had my attention reluctantly dragged towards by Wccftech: a Redditor who has broken their gaming laptop hinge by standing it upside down, per Instagram reel and video setups they'd seen. Whatever could go wrong?

    Snapping, that's what. Laptops aren't usually designed to support resting on the top of the screen. "The other hinge," the Redditor says, "also broke but it snapped back in. This one does not."

    Mind you, I'm not sure any of my pleas would have been listened to even if they were uttered beforehand. The Redditor explains:

    "People on Reddit on my last post were saying that the hinges could break, but I didn’t really pay attention to that. Yeah it might be ggs and this laptop ain’t even mine."

    The laptop is presumably an Asus TUF laptop of some kind, given it's on the Asus TUF subreddit. I use a TUF laptop every day, so seeing this gives me a particularly sharp pang of pain.

    Anyways, I won't belabour the point given it's a simple one: try not to do things you're not supposed to with your expensive devices. And if you do, don't be surprised if it goes awry.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ ASUS ROG gaming laptops show a computer is more than its components ]]> If you're shopping around to get ready for the new school year and looking for a gaming laptop to cover a broad range of performance needs, you'll find plenty of hardware claiming it's for "gaming," but just what kind of gaming experience you'll get is still a huge question. Plenty of brands are happy to have you find out later that the type of gaming is limited to retro games or lightweight esports titles at low frame rates. ASUS’s ROG (Republic of Gamers) sub-brand knows better, delivering expertise in design and engineering for potent gaming. The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 is the exemplar of the brand, showing what it looks like when a laptop is truly designed to give its all to gaming so that you can decide the kind of gaming you want to do.

    From gaming after homework and running AI workloads to rendering creative projects and running engineering physics simulations, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is the system that can check every box on your back-to-school laptop wishlist when your coursework calls for a laptop that goes beyond the ordinary.

    ROG knows that a computer is more than the components you throw into a chassis. What matters just as much as the choice of components is how you treat them and how they relate to other components in the system.

    The ROG Strix SCAR 18 combines components that work in harmony to maximize the gaming experience. It offers a GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU and Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 290HX Plus and makes sure you can pull every frame possible out of the pairing by letting them draw up to a combined 320 watts. That's a massive power budget that ensures neither part is starving for power even while both are operating under the heavy load of gaming, and the system can dynamically shift power to the component that needs it most, with up to 200 watts to the CPU or 175 watts to the GPU. When it’s crunch time and you need to power through some heavy work — be it 3D rendering, an engineering simulation, or editing together an entire movie — where other laptops might slow to a crawl, it’s that power that’s going to let the ROG Strix SCAR 18 keep up with you.

    ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: ASUS)

    With great power comes great heat, and 320 watts absolutely qualifies as great power in the laptop realm. To wrangle all the heat generated by its components, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 incorporates ROG Intelligent Cooling, leveraging decades of R&D in thermal management. The cooling solution is specifically tailored to handle the 320 watts of the ROG Strix SCAR 18 with liquid metal on both the CPU and GPU to pass heat to a massive, full-width vapor chamber and triple-fan cooling system that can keep the system running at peak speeds for the long haul.

    If you've ever seen two laptops with the same components somehow performing in entirely different leagues, it was most likely the power budget or cooling (or both) making that difference. With that kind of cooling, your gaming sessions and rendering sessions will stay fast and smooth no matter how long they last.

    ASUS' CPU choice is also crucial, as it ensures the system can feed the GPU plenty of data so it can keep spitting out frames at a rapid rate. The GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU has 24 GB of GDDR7 VRAM—more than any other gaming laptop GPU—giving it a massive frame buffer to fill even after accounting for 4K textures and ray-tracing, so ASUS's choice of the Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 290HX Plus is natural.

    ROG has effectively ensured the GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU gets to run at full tilt and even pump out extra frames through DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation without the CPU holding it back. Those frames all need somewhere to go, though, and the ROG Strix SCAR 18's Nebula display is a match made in heaven.

    The ROG Strix SCAR 18 fits an 18-inch Mini LED display with a 4K resolution and 240 Hz refresh rate, ready to deliver fluid and dagger-sharp visuals at competitive-gaming speeds. With NVIDIA® Reflex ensuring ultra-low latency, that GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU needs a display that can keep up. The 240Hz refresh rate is a good start, but ROG has gone a step further with ROG Nebula ELMB, which uses 40-zone backlight strobing to enhance motion clarity by 16x for ultra-crisp detail even in fast action without sacrificing brightness or variable refresh rate support.

    ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: ASUS)

    The Mini LED tech also works wonderfully in tandem with the GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU's RT cores. Mini LED is known for its brightness, and the ROG Nebula HDR Mini LED panel achieves Display HDR 1000 certification with up to 1,600 nits of brightness and over 2,000 dimming zones to deliver stunning highlights and inky blacks for superb contrast. That's just the kind of display that will make the realistic ray-traced lighting coming from the GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU's RT cores look all the more stunning and lifelike. Beyond gaming, the visual quality of the display is a great match for creative applications from design and 3D modeling to video editing and beyond.

    All of this technology comes together in the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18, and it's ready to go in time for back-to-school season for the student who needs extreme computing performance. Naturally, it can handle all the typical coursework, letting you pull together research materials, chat with classmates about group projects using the FHD webcam, and draft up a paper in a flurry with its snappy keyboard. It goes much further with horsepower to train custom AI models, run engineering simulations, or render 4K video for school and game like a beast when schoolwork's done, making it an invaluable partner to students with heavy computing needs. With tool-less access to storage and memory, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 also provides an easy roadmap for upgrades down the line if your workloads need a bump in the future, so it’s a machine that can grow with your needs over the course of your education, not fall flat after a couple of semesters. While the top-of-the-line ROG Strix SCAR 18 is built to check all the boxes, it is far from the only tool in ASUS's arsenal and serves as a guide to the rest of the brand. The ROG Strix G16 and ROG Strix G18 borrow the same cohesive component integration while offering different configurations that may be better tailored to your specific needs.

    You can find out more about the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 here, if you dare.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/potent-components-power-display-rog-strix-scar-asus/ gumVmR6R8WtAdfC8xifBZf Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:14:46 +0000 false false false

    If you're shopping around to get ready for the new school year and looking for a gaming laptop to cover a broad range of performance needs, you'll find plenty of hardware claiming it's for "gaming," but just what kind of gaming experience you'll get is still a huge question. Plenty of brands are happy to have you find out later that the type of gaming is limited to retro games or lightweight esports titles at low frame rates. ASUS’s ROG (Republic of Gamers) sub-brand knows better, delivering expertise in design and engineering for potent gaming. The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 is the exemplar of the brand, showing what it looks like when a laptop is truly designed to give its all to gaming so that you can decide the kind of gaming you want to do.

    From gaming after homework and running AI workloads to rendering creative projects and running engineering physics simulations, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is the system that can check every box on your back-to-school laptop wishlist when your coursework calls for a laptop that goes beyond the ordinary.

    ROG knows that a computer is more than the components you throw into a chassis. What matters just as much as the choice of components is how you treat them and how they relate to other components in the system.

    The ROG Strix SCAR 18 combines components that work in harmony to maximize the gaming experience. It offers a GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU and Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 290HX Plus and makes sure you can pull every frame possible out of the pairing by letting them draw up to a combined 320 watts. That's a massive power budget that ensures neither part is starving for power even while both are operating under the heavy load of gaming, and the system can dynamically shift power to the component that needs it most, with up to 200 watts to the CPU or 175 watts to the GPU. When it’s crunch time and you need to power through some heavy work — be it 3D rendering, an engineering simulation, or editing together an entire movie — where other laptops might slow to a crawl, it’s that power that’s going to let the ROG Strix SCAR 18 keep up with you.

    ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: ASUS)

    With great power comes great heat, and 320 watts absolutely qualifies as great power in the laptop realm. To wrangle all the heat generated by its components, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 incorporates ROG Intelligent Cooling, leveraging decades of R&D in thermal management. The cooling solution is specifically tailored to handle the 320 watts of the ROG Strix SCAR 18 with liquid metal on both the CPU and GPU to pass heat to a massive, full-width vapor chamber and triple-fan cooling system that can keep the system running at peak speeds for the long haul.

    If you've ever seen two laptops with the same components somehow performing in entirely different leagues, it was most likely the power budget or cooling (or both) making that difference. With that kind of cooling, your gaming sessions and rendering sessions will stay fast and smooth no matter how long they last.

    ASUS' CPU choice is also crucial, as it ensures the system can feed the GPU plenty of data so it can keep spitting out frames at a rapid rate. The GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU has 24 GB of GDDR7 VRAM—more than any other gaming laptop GPU—giving it a massive frame buffer to fill even after accounting for 4K textures and ray-tracing, so ASUS's choice of the Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 290HX Plus is natural.

    ROG has effectively ensured the GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU gets to run at full tilt and even pump out extra frames through DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation without the CPU holding it back. Those frames all need somewhere to go, though, and the ROG Strix SCAR 18's Nebula display is a match made in heaven.

    The ROG Strix SCAR 18 fits an 18-inch Mini LED display with a 4K resolution and 240 Hz refresh rate, ready to deliver fluid and dagger-sharp visuals at competitive-gaming speeds. With NVIDIA® Reflex ensuring ultra-low latency, that GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU needs a display that can keep up. The 240Hz refresh rate is a good start, but ROG has gone a step further with ROG Nebula ELMB, which uses 40-zone backlight strobing to enhance motion clarity by 16x for ultra-crisp detail even in fast action without sacrificing brightness or variable refresh rate support.

    ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 gaming laptop

    (Image credit: ASUS)

    The Mini LED tech also works wonderfully in tandem with the GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU's RT cores. Mini LED is known for its brightness, and the ROG Nebula HDR Mini LED panel achieves Display HDR 1000 certification with up to 1,600 nits of brightness and over 2,000 dimming zones to deliver stunning highlights and inky blacks for superb contrast. That's just the kind of display that will make the realistic ray-traced lighting coming from the GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU's RT cores look all the more stunning and lifelike. Beyond gaming, the visual quality of the display is a great match for creative applications from design and 3D modeling to video editing and beyond.

    All of this technology comes together in the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18, and it's ready to go in time for back-to-school season for the student who needs extreme computing performance. Naturally, it can handle all the typical coursework, letting you pull together research materials, chat with classmates about group projects using the FHD webcam, and draft up a paper in a flurry with its snappy keyboard. It goes much further with horsepower to train custom AI models, run engineering simulations, or render 4K video for school and game like a beast when schoolwork's done, making it an invaluable partner to students with heavy computing needs. With tool-less access to storage and memory, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 also provides an easy roadmap for upgrades down the line if your workloads need a bump in the future, so it’s a machine that can grow with your needs over the course of your education, not fall flat after a couple of semesters. While the top-of-the-line ROG Strix SCAR 18 is built to check all the boxes, it is far from the only tool in ASUS's arsenal and serves as a guide to the rest of the brand. The ROG Strix G16 and ROG Strix G18 borrow the same cohesive component integration while offering different configurations that may be better tailored to your specific needs.

    You can find out more about the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 here, if you dare.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Owner of nearly decade-old Dell laptop reportedly wore through the wrist rest and is 'being stabbed by carbon fibers' ]]>

    A user on X reported feeling pins and needles in their hands whenever they used their Dell XPS 9370 laptop. After investigation, it turns out, "I’ve worn through the palm rests, and now I’m just being stabbed by carbon fibers." Ouch.

    That's according to user X user Parker Drouillard (via International Cyber Digest), who compares the feeling to being constantly hurt by a cactus. They tag Dell and say: "In hindsight, it is perhaps a bad design. How is this not a health hazard?"

    Notably, the XSP 13 (from around 2018) black and white model appears to have a carbon fiber composite palm rest, which is the part that has been worn down from use. They have since put their finger under a microscope, showing off the flecks of what is reportedly carbon fiber embedded in their skin. The user also reports "severe issues" with their contact lenses and says it is "most probably irritation" from the carbon fiber. Again, ouch.

    There is one peculiarity here, in that the video of the microscope has a 2019 time stamp on the bottom. Reverse image searching Drouillard's photos suggests they are original, so this might simply be a problem with the camera or microscope.

    Carbon fiber is a dangerous material to work with when it splinters like this. It can further shatter or break when embedded in your skin, making it hard to remove; some types of carbon fiber have toxic coatings, and getting anything embedded in your skin makes you more susceptible to infections and rashes. And that's before mentioning the problems with ingesting carbon fiber, which you very easily could do if it sticks to your fingers.

    For now, Drouillard has simply taped over the palm rests, though their comment section suggests using epoxy, urethane, or simply a "bunch of different stickers".

    Carbon fiber is a fairly common building material for PC hardware. We've seen a Corsair mouse, a Keychron keyboard concept, an Asus mouse, and even an HP laptop made out of the stuff. This choice of material makes sense, so long as it is adequately treated; carbon fiber is very tough but also very light, which means an uber-lightweight mouse doesn't have to feel flimsy because of the material choice. There are measures that companies can, and likely do, take against traditional wear and tear when using a material like carbon fiber.

    Dell has yet to respond to this complaint, and we don't know exactly how the laptop has been treated in the last decade, but it's definitely made me more cautious about the long-term effects of carbon fiber gear—especially if you like to hang onto your hardware for a long time.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/owner-of-nearly-decade-old-dell-laptop-reportedly-wore-through-the-wrist-rest-and-is-being-stabbed-by-carbon-fibers/ b3rzdvuh2bUdPkoQ7zXq5a Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:28:36 +0000 false false false

    A user on X reported feeling pins and needles in their hands whenever they used their Dell XPS 9370 laptop. After investigation, it turns out, "I’ve worn through the palm rests, and now I’m just being stabbed by carbon fibers." Ouch.

    That's according to user X user Parker Drouillard (via International Cyber Digest), who compares the feeling to being constantly hurt by a cactus. They tag Dell and say: "In hindsight, it is perhaps a bad design. How is this not a health hazard?"

    Notably, the XSP 13 (from around 2018) black and white model appears to have a carbon fiber composite palm rest, which is the part that has been worn down from use. They have since put their finger under a microscope, showing off the flecks of what is reportedly carbon fiber embedded in their skin. The user also reports "severe issues" with their contact lenses and says it is "most probably irritation" from the carbon fiber. Again, ouch.

    There is one peculiarity here, in that the video of the microscope has a 2019 time stamp on the bottom. Reverse image searching Drouillard's photos suggests they are original, so this might simply be a problem with the camera or microscope.

    Carbon fiber is a dangerous material to work with when it splinters like this. It can further shatter or break when embedded in your skin, making it hard to remove; some types of carbon fiber have toxic coatings, and getting anything embedded in your skin makes you more susceptible to infections and rashes. And that's before mentioning the problems with ingesting carbon fiber, which you very easily could do if it sticks to your fingers.

    For now, Drouillard has simply taped over the palm rests, though their comment section suggests using epoxy, urethane, or simply a "bunch of different stickers".

    Carbon fiber is a fairly common building material for PC hardware. We've seen a Corsair mouse, a Keychron keyboard concept, an Asus mouse, and even an HP laptop made out of the stuff. This choice of material makes sense, so long as it is adequately treated; carbon fiber is very tough but also very light, which means an uber-lightweight mouse doesn't have to feel flimsy because of the material choice. There are measures that companies can, and likely do, take against traditional wear and tear when using a material like carbon fiber.

    Dell has yet to respond to this complaint, and we don't know exactly how the laptop has been treated in the last decade, but it's definitely made me more cautious about the long-term effects of carbon fiber gear—especially if you like to hang onto your hardware for a long time.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Acer's bizarre hybrid handheld/laptop concept is way more interesting than what is actually getting released this year ]]> While I've bemoaned the expensive state of handheld gaming PCs at length, that doesn't mean I find a cool concept model any less head-turning. Enter Acer's latest Project DualPlay creation: a handheld gaming PC with a flippable screen that can turn into a laptop.

    The Project DualPlay Mini was shown off on-stage at IFA 2026, in Berlin. It's all about reimagining "what a gaming handheld form factor can do," exploring a design that functions "both as a gaming handheld and as a mobile productivity station," according to Acer. As a concept machine, however, the Project DualPlay Mini might not see the light of day beyond the IFA stage. What will see a wide release later this year, though, is the Acer Predator Atlas 7.

    Very simply, this is a cut-down version of Acer's chunkier Predator Atlas 8 handheld. For starters, the seven-inch touchscreen still enjoys a 120 Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of peak brightness. The device also has an 80Whr battery, and the guts of this new seven-inch form factor still includes Intel Arc B390 graphics, and an Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor. In other words, it's got all of the power, but less of the heft.

    It will be available in winter 2026, though the price hasn't yet been announced. For context though, the Predator Atlas 8 ranges in price between $1,300 to $2,000, and I'm not expecting the Atlas 7 to be priced much differently. With the smaller handheld featuring up to 24 GB LPDDR5x, whatever price is eventually announced will likely be another victim of the raging memory supply crisis.

    Even if it could well burn your budget upon release, the Predator Atlas 7's cooling system aims not to burn your fingies too. Like its big sibling, the Atlas 7 enjoys a Predator AeroBlade cooling system, comprising of one plastic fan and one, thinner finned, metal fan (the same system can be found in the Project DualPlay Mini concept machine too). Acer says the metal Predator AeroBlade fan features, "89 blades at just 0.1 mm of thickness" and claims this design delivers an "up to a 10% increase in airflow."

    Lifestyle shots of the Acer Predator Atlas 7, a cutdown version of the Atlas 8 handheld gaming PC.

    The Acer Predator Atlas 7, a cutdown version of the Atlas 8 handheld gaming PC. (Image credit: Acer)

    To summarise, the Acer Predator Atlas 7 is 'same, but different.' With handheld pricing being what it is, my excitement is decidedly tempered. The Project DualPlay Mini is definitely cooler, and arguably the brightest idea we've seen from Acer's concept line in a minute (anyone remember this laptop with the pop-out, Joycon-like gamepad?). But the flippable screen would leave me wondering about the longevity of the device overall, so perhaps it's just as well it's not destined for a store shelf near you.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/acers-bizarre-hybrid-handheld-laptop-concept-is-way-more-interesting-than-what-is-actually-getting-released-this-year/ rAnEBTGetZA82jsYbF42G7 Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:16:25 +0000 false false false

    While I've bemoaned the expensive state of handheld gaming PCs at length, that doesn't mean I find a cool concept model any less head-turning. Enter Acer's latest Project DualPlay creation: a handheld gaming PC with a flippable screen that can turn into a laptop.

    The Project DualPlay Mini was shown off on-stage at IFA 2026, in Berlin. It's all about reimagining "what a gaming handheld form factor can do," exploring a design that functions "both as a gaming handheld and as a mobile productivity station," according to Acer. As a concept machine, however, the Project DualPlay Mini might not see the light of day beyond the IFA stage. What will see a wide release later this year, though, is the Acer Predator Atlas 7.

    Very simply, this is a cut-down version of Acer's chunkier Predator Atlas 8 handheld. For starters, the seven-inch touchscreen still enjoys a 120 Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of peak brightness. The device also has an 80Whr battery, and the guts of this new seven-inch form factor still includes Intel Arc B390 graphics, and an Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor. In other words, it's got all of the power, but less of the heft.

    It will be available in winter 2026, though the price hasn't yet been announced. For context though, the Predator Atlas 8 ranges in price between $1,300 to $2,000, and I'm not expecting the Atlas 7 to be priced much differently. With the smaller handheld featuring up to 24 GB LPDDR5x, whatever price is eventually announced will likely be another victim of the raging memory supply crisis.

    Even if it could well burn your budget upon release, the Predator Atlas 7's cooling system aims not to burn your fingies too. Like its big sibling, the Atlas 7 enjoys a Predator AeroBlade cooling system, comprising of one plastic fan and one, thinner finned, metal fan (the same system can be found in the Project DualPlay Mini concept machine too). Acer says the metal Predator AeroBlade fan features, "89 blades at just 0.1 mm of thickness" and claims this design delivers an "up to a 10% increase in airflow."

    Lifestyle shots of the Acer Predator Atlas 7, a cutdown version of the Atlas 8 handheld gaming PC.

    The Acer Predator Atlas 7, a cutdown version of the Atlas 8 handheld gaming PC. (Image credit: Acer)

    To summarise, the Acer Predator Atlas 7 is 'same, but different.' With handheld pricing being what it is, my excitement is decidedly tempered. The Project DualPlay Mini is definitely cooler, and arguably the brightest idea we've seen from Acer's concept line in a minute (anyone remember this laptop with the pop-out, Joycon-like gamepad?). But the flippable screen would leave me wondering about the longevity of the device overall, so perhaps it's just as well it's not destined for a store shelf near you.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ 30,000 games are either Steam Deck verified or at least 'playable' on Valve's handheld ]]> Valve's handheld launched in February 2022, opening the door to playing your Steam library on the go. Now, almost half a decade later, 30,000 games either enjoy the green stamp of being Steam Deck verified, or are at least considered 'playable.'

    According to the latest numbers from SteamDB that breaks down to 8,964 Steam Deck Verified games and 21,083 games considered 'playable' on the handheld (via Gaming On Linux). That's a big jump from the 3,000 games either Verified or Playable back in May 2022.

    'Verified' means your game of choice should work great on the Steam Deck from first boot, whereas 'Playable' games require either some finagling or adjustments for the best experience. Steam Deck verification is also joined by similar compatibility checks for the Steam Machine, the soon-to-be-released Steam Frame, and SteamOS more broadly. I make the whole thing sound straightforward, but it's worth noting that the Steam Deck's full verification criteria can present developers with confusing hoops to jump through.

    One more thing to note: a game with neither badge doesn't necessarily mean it won't run on the Steam Deck at all. For just one example, Dragon Age: Origins is officially 'Unsupported,' but our Shaun says it runs incredibly on Valve's handheld. Granted, that's a 17-year-old game, but I think the point of 'Unsupported doesn't always mean a no-go on the Steam Deck' still stands. The thing you might want to be more wary of is how the kernel-level anti-cheat systems often used in competitive games don't play well with the handheld's Linux-based SteamOS.

    And it doesn't mean games will always be playable on the Steam Deck. Ubisoft recently announced that it is "removing For Honor from the Linux platform to ensure a safer environment for our players as we cannot meaningfully deploy protection on this platform." Which means no third-person melee fun for you on Steam Deck, so from September 10 there will be one less game playable on Steam Deck.

    Anyway, for a bit more context, SteamDB also says well over 130,000 games total have been released on Steam to date. SteamDB's figures suggest there were half as many games on Steam back in 2022. With the platform having grown so significantly in just the last four years, the days of 10% of all Steam games enjoying official Steam Deck compatibility feel so long ago.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/30-000-games-are-either-steam-deck-verified-or-at-least-playable-on-valves-handheld/ VHBoZXggqtFymqrLSJAnfD Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:17:28 +0000 false false false

    Valve's handheld launched in February 2022, opening the door to playing your Steam library on the go. Now, almost half a decade later, 30,000 games either enjoy the green stamp of being Steam Deck verified, or are at least considered 'playable.'

    According to the latest numbers from SteamDB that breaks down to 8,964 Steam Deck Verified games and 21,083 games considered 'playable' on the handheld (via Gaming On Linux). That's a big jump from the 3,000 games either Verified or Playable back in May 2022.

    'Verified' means your game of choice should work great on the Steam Deck from first boot, whereas 'Playable' games require either some finagling or adjustments for the best experience. Steam Deck verification is also joined by similar compatibility checks for the Steam Machine, the soon-to-be-released Steam Frame, and SteamOS more broadly. I make the whole thing sound straightforward, but it's worth noting that the Steam Deck's full verification criteria can present developers with confusing hoops to jump through.

    One more thing to note: a game with neither badge doesn't necessarily mean it won't run on the Steam Deck at all. For just one example, Dragon Age: Origins is officially 'Unsupported,' but our Shaun says it runs incredibly on Valve's handheld. Granted, that's a 17-year-old game, but I think the point of 'Unsupported doesn't always mean a no-go on the Steam Deck' still stands. The thing you might want to be more wary of is how the kernel-level anti-cheat systems often used in competitive games don't play well with the handheld's Linux-based SteamOS.

    And it doesn't mean games will always be playable on the Steam Deck. Ubisoft recently announced that it is "removing For Honor from the Linux platform to ensure a safer environment for our players as we cannot meaningfully deploy protection on this platform." Which means no third-person melee fun for you on Steam Deck, so from September 10 there will be one less game playable on Steam Deck.

    Anyway, for a bit more context, SteamDB also says well over 130,000 games total have been released on Steam to date. SteamDB's figures suggest there were half as many games on Steam back in 2022. With the platform having grown so significantly in just the last four years, the days of 10% of all Steam games enjoying official Steam Deck compatibility feel so long ago.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W review ]]>

    The MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W is in many ways the polar opposite of the other MSI laptop I recently tested, the Stealth 16 AI+ B3W. The latter is an ultra-expensive, sleek and subtle machine that limits its power for the sake of thermals, efficiency, and form factor. Not so with the Crosshair: it's a gaming laptop, and it knows it.

    I could tell as much as soon as I unboxed it, thanks to its glossy—and I would later discover, RGB-lit—embossed MSI logo on the lid, plus the general thickness, key styling and so on. It's not particularly obnoxious and still has some subtlety to it, but it's not hiding the fact that it's a gaming laptop.

    Nor does it hide this fact when it comes to performance, eking as much as it can out of the RTX 5070 GPU and Core Ultra 7 251HX processor, saying to hell with thermals and battery life. I can certainly respect that, but it has to deliver in other respects, too, including price. And in other respects this laptop is not quite so pretty.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want great all-round performance: MSI really has designed this thing to eke out as much performance as possible from the mid-range components.

    ✅ Punchy visuals are important to you: This laptop has a gorgeous OLED panel that does indeed make visuals pop.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You want snappy audio: The audio from this laptop suffers from latency issues, and I couldn't seem to resolve them even after quite a bit of tinkering.

    ❌ You want to take this out and about: Not only does this laptop have poor battery life, it also doesn't look particularly appealing aesthetically for use in public.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W features

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W specs

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX

    NPU

    30 TOPS

    Graphics

    RTX 5070 mobile (115 W)

    Memory

    16 GB DDR5-6400

    Storage

    1 TB SSD

    Screen size

    16-inch

    Screen type

    OLED

    Resolution

    2560 x 1600

    Refresh rate

    165 Hz

    Ports

    1x RJ45, 1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB Type-C, 3x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen2, 1x HDMI 2.1

    Wireless connectivity

    Wi-Fi 6E

    Battery

    80 Whr (4-cell)

    Dimensions

    363 x 269.7 x 21.95–23.85 mm

    Weight

    2.2 kg

    Price

    $2,600 (32 GB ver., US only)

    The particular Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W that I tested came with an Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX, RTX 5070, and 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, but there are different versions. The ones I can currently spot online have a more powerful Core Ultra 9 290HX with 32 GB of DDR5, or the same 251HX CPU but an RTX 5060 and 32 GB of DDR5. All of those come with 1 TB of storage.

    In the case of the 16 GB of RAM in the version I have, it is at least 2x8 GB of fast 6,400 MT/s memory, rather than a single stick of slow RAM. This presumably helps a bunch with CPU-intensive tasks, as I found the laptop to perform even better than some others with 'better' CPUs.

    A big draw here is also the OLED panel, which is gorgeous. I'm not used to seeing OLEDs on such gamer-y gaming laptops, as I've only really seen them on gaming laptops that are going for 'sleek and refined', so it's a nice surprise to see such a great panel here. It's only 165 Hz, but it's a perfect match for the RTX 5070 mobile GPU inside the Crosshair.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future

    At first I thought there weren't many ports on this laptop, but before long I found the rest hidden on the rear side and breathed a sigh of relief. I particularly like the inclusion of a Thunderbolt 4 port as well as a port for an Ethernet connection.

    Getting to how it is to actually use the laptop, I don't have any real complaints but equally no specific praises. It's no behemoth, but it's hardly a slimline laptop, either, and its keys feel simply… fine. WASD keys are translucent and there is 24-zone RGB, again signalling to the world 'I am definitely a gaming laptop'. I do wish MSI had foregone the numpad to make things a little less cramped, though. The trackpad is quite small, but it is at least central, which is the correct choice (fight me).

    The big downside is audio, just as was the case with the Stealth. However, in this case it's even worse. There's definite (but not catastrophically high) latency over the default audio device, but unlike with the Stealth I tested, this wasn't resolved by switching to a different USB-connected audio device.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: Future)

    As such, if you play games that really benefit from snappy and responsive audio such as shooters, and especially sensitive to a little audio delay, I'd steer clear unless and until MSI discovers what the problem is and how to fix it (the company is investigating). I tried disabling/uninstalling Nahimic as well as Norton antivirus to see if that helped, but doing the former proved difficult and the latter didn't resolve it.

    The speakers themselves are nothing to write home about anyway. They're not the worst I've heard, but they've definitely got a little bit of that tinniness in them that you expect out of a lot of laptops or cheaper Bluetooth speakers.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W performance

    The Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W performs very well for an RTX 5070 laptop, often beating other similar lappies. MSI has clearly opted for a performance-oriented machine here, and it shows.

    1080p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution.

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070
    46
    33
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    34
    24
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    32
    20
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    43
    33
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)
    36
    24
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)
    55
    32
    015304560
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 507046 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)34 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)32 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507043 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)36 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)55 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
    The MSI Crosshair 16 Max performs incredibly well at 1080p, often beating other RTX 5070 laptops and almost keeping up with an (admittedly power-limited) RTX 5080 laptop.

    1600p (native) gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p (native) resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    26
    19
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    9
    2
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    18
    8
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    12
    5
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    34
    22
    010203040
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)26 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)9 Avg FPS, 2 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507018 Avg FPS, 8 1% Low FPS
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)12 Avg FPS, 5 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)34 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
    The Corsshair 16 Max does very well at native res, offering playable frame rates in almost all of these games. In most of them, it leads other RTX 5070 gaming laptops. (Note the MSI Stealth listed here has an RTX 5080 that is power-limited compared to some other RTX 5080 laptops.)

    At both 1080p and 1600p (native), the MSI performs better than other RTX 5070 mobile laptops and even comes close to the (power-limited) Stealth with RTX 5080 mobile. This is more so the case at 1080p where things are less GPU-bound and the CPU can have more of an effect, but it's still great at native.

    Real-world gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen where applicable

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    80
    51
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    27
    18
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    58
    35
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    75
    58
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    97
    53
    0255075100
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)80 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)27 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)58 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507075 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)97 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
    Again, the MSI Crosshair 16 Max performs well. With upscaling and/or frame gen, expect smooth frame rates even in pretty demanding games at native resolution on max settings. (Note the MSI Stealth listed here has an RTX 5080 that is power-limited compared to some other RTX 5080 laptops.)

    When upscaling and/or frame gen is enabled, even pretty demanding games become smoothly playable at native res on max settings. Saying this, you might still want to drop your settings a little just to reduce any latency incurred by frame gen, as higher starting frame rates improve this.

    I'd say this laptop is ideal for gaming on high (but not max) settings at 1600p with upscaling and, in some games, frame gen. That will be how to make the best use of the 165 Hz refresh rate on offer here.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: Future)

    Interestingly, this one seems to perform even better in most games than the previous MSI Crosshair we tested, the Crosshair 16 HX AI (2025), which has the same GPU and a more powerful Core Ultra 9 275HX processor. That could be due to driver improvements over the past year plus the fact that this new one gets hotter, ie, allows for a bit of extra performance at the top.

    System performance

    The laptops are here tested against intensive benchmarks that mostly test the CPU, but also the GPU, for productivity tasks.

    Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    120.254
    135.177
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    121.787
    130.822
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    77.91
    87.77
    Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070
    108.822
    128.355
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)
    65.22
    105.78
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    105.399
    98.828
    037.575112.5150
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)120.254 Compressing (GIPS), 135.177 Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)121.787 Compressing (GIPS), 130.822 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)77.91 Compressing (GIPS), 87.77 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070108.822 Compressing (GIPS), 128.355 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)65.22 Compressing (GIPS), 105.78 Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)105.399 Compressing (GIPS), 98.828 Decompressing (GIPS)
    The Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX in the MSI Crosshair 16 Max is better for productivity tasks than a lot of other RTX 5070 laptops

    Much as with this laptop's gaming performance, its productivity performance is impressive. When allowed to run so hot, the Intel chip here can plough through tasks such as decompression and other multi-core-heavy tasks.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W thermals

    Real-world gaming temperatures

    Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

    Gaming temperatures

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    91
    104
    81
    84
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    55
    98
    28
    69
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    55
    87
    57
    71
    Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070
    65
    73
    68
    71
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)
    58
    71
    59
    72
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    92
    100
    81
    87
    037.575112.5150
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)91 Avg CPU (°C), 104 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 84 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)55 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 28 Avg GPU (°C), 69 Max GPU (°C)
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)55 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 57 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
    Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 507065 Avg CPU (°C), 73 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)58 Avg CPU (°C), 71 Max CPU (°C), 59 Avg GPU (°C), 72 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)92 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 87 Max GPU (°C)
    The MSI Crosshair 16 Max does run very hot on Extreme Performance mode (and, as an aside, still pretty damn hot in Balanced mode). That's especially the case for its Core Ultra 7 251HX CPU.

    This laptop is indeed particularly toasty. This obviously helps in the performance department, but don't expect it to win any efficiency medals. 104 °C for the max CPU temp is hot, as is 84 °C for the GPU, though the new MSI Stealth runs a little hotter on that front.

    That being said, during all my time gaming, I didn't notice my fingers getting too hot on WASD, and given the performance is so good, I doubt the high temps indicate too much throttling.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: Future)

    The Crosshair can get pretty loud in Extreme Performance mode, which these benchmarks were taken in. However, as with the new Stealth, this Crosshair's fans don't sound grating at all. You just get a pleasant, loud whoosh. Though it will make it difficult to hear your game through the speakers if you're opting for built-in audio.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W aesthetics

    I don't have a ton of praise for the way this laptop looks, unfortunately. It's not awful, just not my particular cup of tea. There's a splash of the old-fashioned, angular, gamer-y look to it, but it only leans kind of half-heartedly in that direction, which ultimately means it looks a little confused about what it wants to be overall.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: Future)

    You're getting some funky RGB lighting on the keys, including a translucent WASD if that's your jam, and you're also getting the logo on the lid which lights up and a particularly angular design on the underside, but the rest of the chassis is plain. To be honest, I'd rather it leaned in one direction or the other: gamer-y, or subtle. Still, it's far from an outrageous design and doesn't offend my aesthetic sensibilities too much.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W software

    The main bloatware on this laptop is Norton antivirus, which I'd personally promptly uninstall just because Microsoft Defender is fine and Norton, in my historical opinion, can be a bit of a pain.

    MSI Center software running on an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: MSI)

    Apart from that, you get MSI Center to control all the settings such as lighting and performance modes. You can install a bunch more modules to fiddle with different settings if you wish, but I just stuck with those and the default system info and options pages. It runs well and isn't too difficult to navigate once you get used to it, but it definitely feels like a 'set it and leave it' kind of software that you don't need to load up very often.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W battery life

    Battery life

    Testing how long the battery lasts in Balanced mode, medium brightness, Wi-Fi disconnected, in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test.

    PCMark 10

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W)
    72
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI)
    101
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot
    109
    Framework 16
    131
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10
    89
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+
    104
    037.575112.5150
    PCMark 10 Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W)72
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI)101
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot109
    Framework 16131
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen1089
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+104
    The MSI Crosshair 16 Max perhaps unsurprisingly doesn't do very well when it comes to battery life. It seems oriented around eking out as much performance as possible from its CPU and GPU, without much care for efficiency.

    You probably already expected this given the laptop ekes out as much performance as it can from its components, not to mention that it runs mighty hot, but battery life is not great. This isn't a laptop for those of you who primarily want to game while out and about using battery power, but for short sessions or light work it's fine unplugged.

    The RTX 5080-boasting MSI Stealth laptop I tested has a 90 Wh battery and lasted for 104 minutes in a gaming battery life benchmark, whereas this one has an 80 Wh battery and lasted for just 72 minutes. That's 31% less time up and running, and less than a bunch of other RTX 5070 laptops we've tested.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W Value

    You're looking at about $2,600 for the 32 GB version of this—$2,000 on offer—and I can't see the 16 GB version that I tried for sale anywhere. Looking at some of the best deals on gaming laptops right now, that $2,600 is pretty expensive for an RTX 5070 machine.

    On the one hand, this isn't a corner-cutting machine, as you're getting a lovely OLED panel and some very convincing performance that pushes the CPU and GPU as far as possible. But on the other hand, even $2,000 on sale is a lot for an RTX 5070 machine, even during a memory shortage. You can often pick similar but non-OLED gaming laptops up for well under $1,500 on sale.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future

    As such, unless and until there are bigger discounts on it, I don't think the price tag fits what's on offer. If the normal retail price were a couple hundred lower and the discount price was a couple hundred lower, too, I would consider it for the OLED panel and great performance.

    But as it stands, it's a tough sell, especially if you want any kind of battery or thermal efficiency, or just a laptop that looks a little more dashing. Not to mention one that doesn't suffer from audio latency issues. Considering performance alone it's a great machine, but the price is not quite right.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/msi-crosshair-16-max-hx-e2w-review/ DgZUgXbK89aWX4mFm3ARYT Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:50:22 +0000 Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:50:27 +0000 false false false

    The MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W is in many ways the polar opposite of the other MSI laptop I recently tested, the Stealth 16 AI+ B3W. The latter is an ultra-expensive, sleek and subtle machine that limits its power for the sake of thermals, efficiency, and form factor. Not so with the Crosshair: it's a gaming laptop, and it knows it.

    I could tell as much as soon as I unboxed it, thanks to its glossy—and I would later discover, RGB-lit—embossed MSI logo on the lid, plus the general thickness, key styling and so on. It's not particularly obnoxious and still has some subtlety to it, but it's not hiding the fact that it's a gaming laptop.

    Nor does it hide this fact when it comes to performance, eking as much as it can out of the RTX 5070 GPU and Core Ultra 7 251HX processor, saying to hell with thermals and battery life. I can certainly respect that, but it has to deliver in other respects, too, including price. And in other respects this laptop is not quite so pretty.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want great all-round performance: MSI really has designed this thing to eke out as much performance as possible from the mid-range components.

    ✅ Punchy visuals are important to you: This laptop has a gorgeous OLED panel that does indeed make visuals pop.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You want snappy audio: The audio from this laptop suffers from latency issues, and I couldn't seem to resolve them even after quite a bit of tinkering.

    ❌ You want to take this out and about: Not only does this laptop have poor battery life, it also doesn't look particularly appealing aesthetically for use in public.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W features

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W specs

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX

    NPU

    30 TOPS

    Graphics

    RTX 5070 mobile (115 W)

    Memory

    16 GB DDR5-6400

    Storage

    1 TB SSD

    Screen size

    16-inch

    Screen type

    OLED

    Resolution

    2560 x 1600

    Refresh rate

    165 Hz

    Ports

    1x RJ45, 1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB Type-C, 3x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen2, 1x HDMI 2.1

    Wireless connectivity

    Wi-Fi 6E

    Battery

    80 Whr (4-cell)

    Dimensions

    363 x 269.7 x 21.95–23.85 mm

    Weight

    2.2 kg

    Price

    $2,600 (32 GB ver., US only)

    The particular Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W that I tested came with an Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX, RTX 5070, and 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, but there are different versions. The ones I can currently spot online have a more powerful Core Ultra 9 290HX with 32 GB of DDR5, or the same 251HX CPU but an RTX 5060 and 32 GB of DDR5. All of those come with 1 TB of storage.

    In the case of the 16 GB of RAM in the version I have, it is at least 2x8 GB of fast 6,400 MT/s memory, rather than a single stick of slow RAM. This presumably helps a bunch with CPU-intensive tasks, as I found the laptop to perform even better than some others with 'better' CPUs.

    A big draw here is also the OLED panel, which is gorgeous. I'm not used to seeing OLEDs on such gamer-y gaming laptops, as I've only really seen them on gaming laptops that are going for 'sleek and refined', so it's a nice surprise to see such a great panel here. It's only 165 Hz, but it's a perfect match for the RTX 5070 mobile GPU inside the Crosshair.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future

    At first I thought there weren't many ports on this laptop, but before long I found the rest hidden on the rear side and breathed a sigh of relief. I particularly like the inclusion of a Thunderbolt 4 port as well as a port for an Ethernet connection.

    Getting to how it is to actually use the laptop, I don't have any real complaints but equally no specific praises. It's no behemoth, but it's hardly a slimline laptop, either, and its keys feel simply… fine. WASD keys are translucent and there is 24-zone RGB, again signalling to the world 'I am definitely a gaming laptop'. I do wish MSI had foregone the numpad to make things a little less cramped, though. The trackpad is quite small, but it is at least central, which is the correct choice (fight me).

    The big downside is audio, just as was the case with the Stealth. However, in this case it's even worse. There's definite (but not catastrophically high) latency over the default audio device, but unlike with the Stealth I tested, this wasn't resolved by switching to a different USB-connected audio device.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: Future)

    As such, if you play games that really benefit from snappy and responsive audio such as shooters, and especially sensitive to a little audio delay, I'd steer clear unless and until MSI discovers what the problem is and how to fix it (the company is investigating). I tried disabling/uninstalling Nahimic as well as Norton antivirus to see if that helped, but doing the former proved difficult and the latter didn't resolve it.

    The speakers themselves are nothing to write home about anyway. They're not the worst I've heard, but they've definitely got a little bit of that tinniness in them that you expect out of a lot of laptops or cheaper Bluetooth speakers.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W performance

    The Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W performs very well for an RTX 5070 laptop, often beating other similar lappies. MSI has clearly opted for a performance-oriented machine here, and it shows.

    1080p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution.

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070
    46
    33
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    34
    24
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    32
    20
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    43
    33
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)
    36
    24
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)
    55
    32
    015304560
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 507046 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)34 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)32 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507043 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Nvidia RTX 5060 (115 W)36 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+| RTX 5080 (125 W)55 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
    The MSI Crosshair 16 Max performs incredibly well at 1080p, often beating other RTX 5070 laptops and almost keeping up with an (admittedly power-limited) RTX 5080 laptop.

    1600p (native) gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p (native) resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    26
    19
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    9
    2
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    18
    8
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    12
    5
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    34
    22
    010203040
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)26 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)9 Avg FPS, 2 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507018 Avg FPS, 8 1% Low FPS
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)12 Avg FPS, 5 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)34 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
    The Corsshair 16 Max does very well at native res, offering playable frame rates in almost all of these games. In most of them, it leads other RTX 5070 gaming laptops. (Note the MSI Stealth listed here has an RTX 5080 that is power-limited compared to some other RTX 5080 laptops.)

    At both 1080p and 1600p (native), the MSI performs better than other RTX 5070 mobile laptops and even comes close to the (power-limited) Stealth with RTX 5080 mobile. This is more so the case at 1080p where things are less GPU-bound and the CPU can have more of an effect, but it's still great at native.

    Real-world gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen where applicable

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    80
    51
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    27
    18
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    58
    35
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    75
    58
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    97
    53
    0255075100
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | RTX 5070 (115 W)80 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | RTX 5070 (115 W)27 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | RTX 5070 (85 W)58 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507075 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)97 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
    Again, the MSI Crosshair 16 Max performs well. With upscaling and/or frame gen, expect smooth frame rates even in pretty demanding games at native resolution on max settings. (Note the MSI Stealth listed here has an RTX 5080 that is power-limited compared to some other RTX 5080 laptops.)

    When upscaling and/or frame gen is enabled, even pretty demanding games become smoothly playable at native res on max settings. Saying this, you might still want to drop your settings a little just to reduce any latency incurred by frame gen, as higher starting frame rates improve this.

    I'd say this laptop is ideal for gaming on high (but not max) settings at 1600p with upscaling and, in some games, frame gen. That will be how to make the best use of the 165 Hz refresh rate on offer here.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: Future)

    Interestingly, this one seems to perform even better in most games than the previous MSI Crosshair we tested, the Crosshair 16 HX AI (2025), which has the same GPU and a more powerful Core Ultra 9 275HX processor. That could be due to driver improvements over the past year plus the fact that this new one gets hotter, ie, allows for a bit of extra performance at the top.

    System performance

    The laptops are here tested against intensive benchmarks that mostly test the CPU, but also the GPU, for productivity tasks.

    Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    120.254
    135.177
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    121.787
    130.822
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    77.91
    87.77
    Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070
    108.822
    128.355
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)
    65.22
    105.78
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    105.399
    98.828
    037.575112.5150
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)120.254 Compressing (GIPS), 135.177 Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)121.787 Compressing (GIPS), 130.822 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)77.91 Compressing (GIPS), 87.77 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070108.822 Compressing (GIPS), 128.355 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)65.22 Compressing (GIPS), 105.78 Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)105.399 Compressing (GIPS), 98.828 Decompressing (GIPS)
    The Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX in the MSI Crosshair 16 Max is better for productivity tasks than a lot of other RTX 5070 laptops

    Much as with this laptop's gaming performance, its productivity performance is impressive. When allowed to run so hot, the Intel chip here can plough through tasks such as decompression and other multi-core-heavy tasks.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W thermals

    Real-world gaming temperatures

    Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

    Gaming temperatures

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    91
    104
    81
    84
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)
    55
    98
    28
    69
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)
    55
    87
    57
    71
    Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070
    65
    73
    68
    71
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)
    58
    71
    59
    72
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    92
    100
    81
    87
    037.575112.5150
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W) | Core Ultra 7 251HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)91 Avg CPU (°C), 104 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 84 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI) | Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5070 (115 W)55 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 28 Avg GPU (°C), 69 Max GPU (°C)
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot | Ryzen AI 7 350 | RTX 5070 (85 W)55 Avg CPU (°C), 87 Max CPU (°C), 57 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
    Framework 16 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 507065 Avg CPU (°C), 73 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10 | Ryzen 7 250 | RTX 5060 (115 W)58 Avg CPU (°C), 71 Max CPU (°C), 59 Avg GPU (°C), 72 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)92 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 87 Max GPU (°C)
    The MSI Crosshair 16 Max does run very hot on Extreme Performance mode (and, as an aside, still pretty damn hot in Balanced mode). That's especially the case for its Core Ultra 7 251HX CPU.

    This laptop is indeed particularly toasty. This obviously helps in the performance department, but don't expect it to win any efficiency medals. 104 °C for the max CPU temp is hot, as is 84 °C for the GPU, though the new MSI Stealth runs a little hotter on that front.

    That being said, during all my time gaming, I didn't notice my fingers getting too hot on WASD, and given the performance is so good, I doubt the high temps indicate too much throttling.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: Future)

    The Crosshair can get pretty loud in Extreme Performance mode, which these benchmarks were taken in. However, as with the new Stealth, this Crosshair's fans don't sound grating at all. You just get a pleasant, loud whoosh. Though it will make it difficult to hear your game through the speakers if you're opting for built-in audio.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W aesthetics

    I don't have a ton of praise for the way this laptop looks, unfortunately. It's not awful, just not my particular cup of tea. There's a splash of the old-fashioned, angular, gamer-y look to it, but it only leans kind of half-heartedly in that direction, which ultimately means it looks a little confused about what it wants to be overall.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: Future)

    You're getting some funky RGB lighting on the keys, including a translucent WASD if that's your jam, and you're also getting the logo on the lid which lights up and a particularly angular design on the underside, but the rest of the chassis is plain. To be honest, I'd rather it leaned in one direction or the other: gamer-y, or subtle. Still, it's far from an outrageous design and doesn't offend my aesthetic sensibilities too much.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W software

    The main bloatware on this laptop is Norton antivirus, which I'd personally promptly uninstall just because Microsoft Defender is fine and Norton, in my historical opinion, can be a bit of a pain.

    MSI Center software running on an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop.

    (Image credit: MSI)

    Apart from that, you get MSI Center to control all the settings such as lighting and performance modes. You can install a bunch more modules to fiddle with different settings if you wish, but I just stuck with those and the default system info and options pages. It runs well and isn't too difficult to navigate once you get used to it, but it definitely feels like a 'set it and leave it' kind of software that you don't need to load up very often.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W battery life

    Battery life

    Testing how long the battery lasts in Balanced mode, medium brightness, Wi-Fi disconnected, in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test.

    PCMark 10

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W)
    72
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI)
    101
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot
    109
    Framework 16
    131
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen10
    89
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+
    104
    037.575112.5150
    PCMark 10 Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Crosshair 16 Max (E2W)72
    MSI Crosshair 16 HX (AI)101
    Gigabyte Aero X16 Copilot109
    Framework 16131
    Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen1089
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+104
    The MSI Crosshair 16 Max perhaps unsurprisingly doesn't do very well when it comes to battery life. It seems oriented around eking out as much performance as possible from its CPU and GPU, without much care for efficiency.

    You probably already expected this given the laptop ekes out as much performance as it can from its components, not to mention that it runs mighty hot, but battery life is not great. This isn't a laptop for those of you who primarily want to game while out and about using battery power, but for short sessions or light work it's fine unplugged.

    The RTX 5080-boasting MSI Stealth laptop I tested has a 90 Wh battery and lasted for 104 minutes in a gaming battery life benchmark, whereas this one has an 80 Wh battery and lasted for just 72 minutes. That's 31% less time up and running, and less than a bunch of other RTX 5070 laptops we've tested.

    MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W Value

    You're looking at about $2,600 for the 32 GB version of this—$2,000 on offer—and I can't see the 16 GB version that I tried for sale anywhere. Looking at some of the best deals on gaming laptops right now, that $2,600 is pretty expensive for an RTX 5070 machine.

    On the one hand, this isn't a corner-cutting machine, as you're getting a lovely OLED panel and some very convincing performance that pushes the CPU and GPU as far as possible. But on the other hand, even $2,000 on sale is a lot for an RTX 5070 machine, even during a memory shortage. You can often pick similar but non-OLED gaming laptops up for well under $1,500 on sale.

    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future
    An MSI Crosshair 16 Max HX E2W gaming laptop.
    Future

    As such, unless and until there are bigger discounts on it, I don't think the price tag fits what's on offer. If the normal retail price were a couple hundred lower and the discount price was a couple hundred lower, too, I would consider it for the OLED panel and great performance.

    But as it stands, it's a tough sell, especially if you want any kind of battery or thermal efficiency, or just a laptop that looks a little more dashing. Not to mention one that doesn't suffer from audio latency issues. Considering performance alone it's a great machine, but the price is not quite right.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ I've checked gaming PC deals every week for two years and I'm not exaggerating when I say there isn't a single well-priced PC left ]]>
    Jacob Fox, hardware writer

    PC Gamer headshots - Jacob Fox

    (Image credit: Future)

    This week I've been: Testing a new mouse that I am enjoying greatly but cannot yet speak about 🤐

    Welcome to your daily dose of doomcore, and no, I don't mean that peculiar genre of music. I mean the state of the PC gaming market. Not to be too much of a negative Nelly but things are not looking great out there.

    You probably didn't need me to tell you that, but given I've been keeping my eye on the best deals for gaming PCs every week (minus holidays) for the past couple of years, I thought I'd share with you some more specific, cheerfully glum context. You're welcome.

    Let's take a nice trip down memory lane to check out a couple of the deals I spotted for gaming PCs around this time last year.

    Here we are: In an assortment I highlighted last September, an RTX 5060 Ti rig for just $1,000. Today, the cheapest we see any just-about-decent RTX 5060 Ti gaming PC retailing for, is about $1,200—this AVGPC Max for $1,209 at Newegg, for instance.

    But that's not even half of it, because you'll notice the RAM in that $1,200 rig is DDR4, not DDR5. And if it wasn't DDR4, you could almost certainly expect such an RTX 5060 Ti rig to have just a single 16 GB stick of DDR5 in single-channel mode.

    How about at the higher end? Well, there's this RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC I also highlighted last September. That was $1,900 for the whole package: RTX 5070 Ti, Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, and even a full 2 TB of storage. Y'know, back when we could recommend 2 TB of storage as a baseline for mid-range and higher rigs, while keeping a straight face.

    An RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC listed for a pre-memory shortage price on Best Buy last October.

    An RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC listed for a pre-memory shortage price on Best Buy last October. (Image credit: iBuyPower, Best Buy, Internet Archive)

    And now? I think you know the deal. I actually struggle to find RTX 5070 Ti gaming PCs worth highlighting anymore—the GPU seems to be more lightly stocked than others. Currently, I've got a PC with the same base specs listed (on sale!) on our deals hub for $2,400 at Newegg. If you're okay opting for an RX 9070 XT instead, you can lower that to $2,099 at Walmart, which does net you a more recent X3D chip—our favourite, in fact—but you're also sacrificing 1 TB of storage.

    More generally, I can tell you that after looking at gaming PC deals week-in, week-out for the past couple of years, pretty much every last bastion of hope for reasonable prices has now slipped away.

    An RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC on sale at a high, post-memory shortage price.

    An RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC on sale at Newegg today for a high, post-memory shortage price. (Image credit: Skytech, Newegg)

    For quite a while and even until very recently, RX 9070 XT PCs held on to lower price tags while Nvidia PCs slipped out of stock, presumably because pre-shortage stocks were lasting longer as fewer AMD PCs tend to be scooped up by PC gamers than Nvidia ones. But recently I've noticed even the best deals on those seem to have slipped away. On the rare occasion there is one for a decent sub-$2,000 price, you're very lucky if it has more than 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage.

    The lower end of the market is particularly dire. Before the memory crisis, there was quite an abundance of RTX 5060 gaming PCs going on sale for under $1,000, sometimes actually for well under this. This one I highlighted last October, for instance, cost just $749. It seemed to come with just a single 16 GB stick of DDR5 memory, but these days you're looking at almost $1,000 for the same thing, and that's if you're lucky (even deals like that are getting quite rare).

    Lowest price per GPU

    We've been measuring the lowest available price of each current-gen GPU since August 14, 2025.

    Lowest pricing (Price, $)
    Week
    Lowest pricing Data
    Timestamp (Week)Nvidia RTX 5080 (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5070 (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5060 (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5050 (Price, $)AMD RX 9070 XT (Price, $)AMD RX 9070 (Price, $)AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (Price, $)AMD RX 9060 XT 16 GB (Price, $)AMD RX 9060 XT 8 GB (Price, $)Intel Arc B580 (Price, $)Intel Arc B570 (Price, $)
    11100780550430368300250700600N/A370280260230
    21099750550430340300250700600N/A370270260230
    31000750524430370291250700550N/A370280250230
    41000750546430345296250695550N/A370280250230
    51000749481430340300250670600N/A350270250230
    6929749499379340289240670600N/A350270250230
    7999750520430350299240650550N/A350270250230
    8980749500430342299250650550N/A350270250200
    9999750500430323299250650560N/A350270250220
    10989730480430340299250600550N/A360270250210
    11990699489400320280230600550N/A340250250200
    12989730500400320279220600530N/A350275250200
    131000750527420342279220600530N/A350280250200
    141000750540420313279220600530N/A370280250202
    151000749499430350279200600530N/A380288240202
    161100750499430350270200620530N/A380288240202
    171230750549430330260235660580N/A390310250200
    181268829540450330290240700580N/A390310250200
    191380899549450330299240720580N/A400310260200
    2013501000620520330299240720600N/A440310290200
    211365950620520351299260730590N/A440350290250
    221365950620520360299260730630N/A400346300250
    231290950630520360340260730630N/A440346300250
    241290950625520360340260730620N/A440346300250
    251250950630550360349260730610N/A440346300250
    261260950604550360349290730610N/A440340300250
    271290950640570360349290730630N/A440340300250
    281250900630515390349290720620N/A440346290250
    291290990636500390349290710620N/A449350290250
    301290990630500390330290710620N/A440350290260
    311290990599500380330290670620N/A440350290260
    321290990599515380310290710620N/A430360290260
    331290980599490400349290710600N/A430360290260
    341270980599550380349290710620N/A440360290260
    351290900599550380350290700600N/A430360304260
    361250980599550370340290700600550440360300260
    371250980599570370340290700600550440350304250
    381250980599570370340290700600550440350304250
    391250920599570330340290700600500400360298250
    401250955599565330340290700600500430360291260
    411250900560560330339290700600500430360290250
    421250950550570380350290690635550450360290260
    4312901030755650420359299720650500470370310260
    4414791088763780420N/A299720650500470400310260
    4515501150800773389359299730630530460360310260

    There is no area of the gaming PC market that isn't now feeling the impact of the global memory shortage. That much I am now certain of. Pre-shortage stocks seem to have run thoroughly dry and system builders and manufacturers are having to up their prices to keep up with ever-increasing memory and storage costs. Not to mention climbing GPU costs (which do themselves, after all, contain memory).

    The thing is, people are still going to want to buy gaming PCs. Which means that apart from the most budget-constrained people who will be priced out of the market completely, prospective PC gamers are unfortunately going to have to start adjusting their pricing expectations.

    I often witness the sentiment that gaming PC deals these days—say, $1,500 for a decent RTX 5070 gaming PC, or $1,200 for a decent RTX 5060 Ti one—are not good ones. And obviously this is true considering the historical market. But those are unfortunately 'good' deals given the market today. It sucks, but it is the reality of the market right now.

    And there doesn't seem to be a lick of difference we can make, at least not while the AI boom rages on and continues to hoard computing silicon in its servers. Happy 2026, everyone.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/ive-checked-gaming-pc-deals-every-week-for-two-years-and-im-not-exaggerating-when-i-say-there-isnt-a-single-well-priced-pc-left/ emowF6M8R2hWycdNET83D9 Sat, 29 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000 false false false
    Jacob Fox, hardware writer

    PC Gamer headshots - Jacob Fox

    (Image credit: Future)

    This week I've been: Testing a new mouse that I am enjoying greatly but cannot yet speak about 🤐

    Welcome to your daily dose of doomcore, and no, I don't mean that peculiar genre of music. I mean the state of the PC gaming market. Not to be too much of a negative Nelly but things are not looking great out there.

    You probably didn't need me to tell you that, but given I've been keeping my eye on the best deals for gaming PCs every week (minus holidays) for the past couple of years, I thought I'd share with you some more specific, cheerfully glum context. You're welcome.

    Let's take a nice trip down memory lane to check out a couple of the deals I spotted for gaming PCs around this time last year.

    Here we are: In an assortment I highlighted last September, an RTX 5060 Ti rig for just $1,000. Today, the cheapest we see any just-about-decent RTX 5060 Ti gaming PC retailing for, is about $1,200—this AVGPC Max for $1,209 at Newegg, for instance.

    But that's not even half of it, because you'll notice the RAM in that $1,200 rig is DDR4, not DDR5. And if it wasn't DDR4, you could almost certainly expect such an RTX 5060 Ti rig to have just a single 16 GB stick of DDR5 in single-channel mode.

    How about at the higher end? Well, there's this RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC I also highlighted last September. That was $1,900 for the whole package: RTX 5070 Ti, Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, and even a full 2 TB of storage. Y'know, back when we could recommend 2 TB of storage as a baseline for mid-range and higher rigs, while keeping a straight face.

    An RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC listed for a pre-memory shortage price on Best Buy last October.

    An RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC listed for a pre-memory shortage price on Best Buy last October. (Image credit: iBuyPower, Best Buy, Internet Archive)

    And now? I think you know the deal. I actually struggle to find RTX 5070 Ti gaming PCs worth highlighting anymore—the GPU seems to be more lightly stocked than others. Currently, I've got a PC with the same base specs listed (on sale!) on our deals hub for $2,400 at Newegg. If you're okay opting for an RX 9070 XT instead, you can lower that to $2,099 at Walmart, which does net you a more recent X3D chip—our favourite, in fact—but you're also sacrificing 1 TB of storage.

    More generally, I can tell you that after looking at gaming PC deals week-in, week-out for the past couple of years, pretty much every last bastion of hope for reasonable prices has now slipped away.

    An RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC on sale at a high, post-memory shortage price.

    An RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC on sale at Newegg today for a high, post-memory shortage price. (Image credit: Skytech, Newegg)

    For quite a while and even until very recently, RX 9070 XT PCs held on to lower price tags while Nvidia PCs slipped out of stock, presumably because pre-shortage stocks were lasting longer as fewer AMD PCs tend to be scooped up by PC gamers than Nvidia ones. But recently I've noticed even the best deals on those seem to have slipped away. On the rare occasion there is one for a decent sub-$2,000 price, you're very lucky if it has more than 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage.

    The lower end of the market is particularly dire. Before the memory crisis, there was quite an abundance of RTX 5060 gaming PCs going on sale for under $1,000, sometimes actually for well under this. This one I highlighted last October, for instance, cost just $749. It seemed to come with just a single 16 GB stick of DDR5 memory, but these days you're looking at almost $1,000 for the same thing, and that's if you're lucky (even deals like that are getting quite rare).

    Lowest price per GPU

    We've been measuring the lowest available price of each current-gen GPU since August 14, 2025.

    Lowest pricing (Price, $)
    Week
    Lowest pricing Data
    Timestamp (Week)Nvidia RTX 5080 (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5070 (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5060 (Price, $)Nvidia RTX 5050 (Price, $)AMD RX 9070 XT (Price, $)AMD RX 9070 (Price, $)AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (Price, $)AMD RX 9060 XT 16 GB (Price, $)AMD RX 9060 XT 8 GB (Price, $)Intel Arc B580 (Price, $)Intel Arc B570 (Price, $)
    11100780550430368300250700600N/A370280260230
    21099750550430340300250700600N/A370270260230
    31000750524430370291250700550N/A370280250230
    41000750546430345296250695550N/A370280250230
    51000749481430340300250670600N/A350270250230
    6929749499379340289240670600N/A350270250230
    7999750520430350299240650550N/A350270250230
    8980749500430342299250650550N/A350270250200
    9999750500430323299250650560N/A350270250220
    10989730480430340299250600550N/A360270250210
    11990699489400320280230600550N/A340250250200
    12989730500400320279220600530N/A350275250200
    131000750527420342279220600530N/A350280250200
    141000750540420313279220600530N/A370280250202
    151000749499430350279200600530N/A380288240202
    161100750499430350270200620530N/A380288240202
    171230750549430330260235660580N/A390310250200
    181268829540450330290240700580N/A390310250200
    191380899549450330299240720580N/A400310260200
    2013501000620520330299240720600N/A440310290200
    211365950620520351299260730590N/A440350290250
    221365950620520360299260730630N/A400346300250
    231290950630520360340260730630N/A440346300250
    241290950625520360340260730620N/A440346300250
    251250950630550360349260730610N/A440346300250
    261260950604550360349290730610N/A440340300250
    271290950640570360349290730630N/A440340300250
    281250900630515390349290720620N/A440346290250
    291290990636500390349290710620N/A449350290250
    301290990630500390330290710620N/A440350290260
    311290990599500380330290670620N/A440350290260
    321290990599515380310290710620N/A430360290260
    331290980599490400349290710600N/A430360290260
    341270980599550380349290710620N/A440360290260
    351290900599550380350290700600N/A430360304260
    361250980599550370340290700600550440360300260
    371250980599570370340290700600550440350304250
    381250980599570370340290700600550440350304250
    391250920599570330340290700600500400360298250
    401250955599565330340290700600500430360291260
    411250900560560330339290700600500430360290250
    421250950550570380350290690635550450360290260
    4312901030755650420359299720650500470370310260
    4414791088763780420N/A299720650500470400310260
    4515501150800773389359299730630530460360310260

    There is no area of the gaming PC market that isn't now feeling the impact of the global memory shortage. That much I am now certain of. Pre-shortage stocks seem to have run thoroughly dry and system builders and manufacturers are having to up their prices to keep up with ever-increasing memory and storage costs. Not to mention climbing GPU costs (which do themselves, after all, contain memory).

    The thing is, people are still going to want to buy gaming PCs. Which means that apart from the most budget-constrained people who will be priced out of the market completely, prospective PC gamers are unfortunately going to have to start adjusting their pricing expectations.

    I often witness the sentiment that gaming PC deals these days—say, $1,500 for a decent RTX 5070 gaming PC, or $1,200 for a decent RTX 5060 Ti one—are not good ones. And obviously this is true considering the historical market. But those are unfortunately 'good' deals given the market today. It sucks, but it is the reality of the market right now.

    And there doesn't seem to be a lick of difference we can make, at least not while the AI boom rages on and continues to hoard computing silicon in its servers. Happy 2026, everyone.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ 'I'm done. I used up my luck for this timeline': Redditor accidentally saves $5,000 on RTX 5090 Razer Blade 18 thanks to labelling error ]]>
    Blade 18 2026 - steal turns into steal of the century
     from r/GamingLaptops

    One Redditor has seemingly got the PC hardware deal of the year by paying €2,433 (around $2,800) for a Razer laptop that currently sells for €6,600 (just under $7,700). Gaming laptops may be pricey right now, thanks to the memory crisis, but that would be a steal even pre-memory crisis. All they had to do was get incredibly lucky.

    As posted by iiT2 over on the GamingLaptops subreddit, a European buyer bought a Blade 18, with 32 GB of memory, a 1 TB SSD, an RTX 5080, and an Intel Ultra 9 290 HX Plus. A mighty machine, but modest in comparison to what they were accidentally sent: A Razer Blade 18 with an RTX 5090, the same Intel chip, a 2 TB SSD, and 64 GB of memory. I put this new configuration together on Razer's website and found out the memory upgrade alone costs an extra €900 (around $1,050) more than the price they actually paid.

    The user says, "I‘m done. I used up my luck for this timeline," and given they could have almost purchased three of their original configs for the price of the new one, I'm inclined to agree.

    The Razer label and invoice do seem to match with both the machine and the original receipt, so that implies whoever labelled this rig at the Razer factory simply labelled it wrong. That means, inevitably, this would likely have gotten into the hands of some buyer somewhere. Just don't count on it happening again. This is an exceedingly rare mistake on Razer's part.

    And what a laptop it is. We at PC Gamer are big fans of what Razer is putting out right now in the gaming laptop space. The most recent Razer Blade 16 got an 86% in our review, with our Andy saying, "It's still one of the best gaming laptops money can buy, but the massive price tag throws me for a loop."

    Razer Blade 14 (2025) gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    We also really liked last year's Razer Blade 14, with its upgraded chassis, gorgeous display, and solid battery life. Razer Blade laptops are pretty expensive, even considering the memory crisis, but their build quality and design are undeniably solid. Plus, they're gorgeous to behold.

    We don't technically know if the Redditor will get to keep this laptop, but given it seems to have been sent due to a mislabelling by the vendor selling it, I certainly wouldn't want to give it back. We also don't know if the original vendor would be aware of their mistake, unless informed.

    One look at our roundup of the best gaming laptop deals will show you that gaming laptops are in a pretty poor place right now. Around $2400 will get you an RTX 5080 and 16 GB of memory, on sale, and that's because memory, storage, and even GPUs are on the rise price-wise, and unlikely to fall for some time. Luckily, iiT2 now has enough gaming horsepower to wait until the whole thing blows over.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/im-done-i-used-up-my-luck-for-this-timeline-redditor-accidentally-saves-usd5-000-on-rtx-5090-razer-blade-18-thanks-to-labelling-error/ itVCJ6gFeqRkxvKWHUYBkQ Fri, 28 Aug 2026 11:51:39 +0000 Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:36:17 +0000 false false false
    Blade 18 2026 - steal turns into steal of the century
     from r/GamingLaptops

    One Redditor has seemingly got the PC hardware deal of the year by paying €2,433 (around $2,800) for a Razer laptop that currently sells for €6,600 (just under $7,700). Gaming laptops may be pricey right now, thanks to the memory crisis, but that would be a steal even pre-memory crisis. All they had to do was get incredibly lucky.

    As posted by iiT2 over on the GamingLaptops subreddit, a European buyer bought a Blade 18, with 32 GB of memory, a 1 TB SSD, an RTX 5080, and an Intel Ultra 9 290 HX Plus. A mighty machine, but modest in comparison to what they were accidentally sent: A Razer Blade 18 with an RTX 5090, the same Intel chip, a 2 TB SSD, and 64 GB of memory. I put this new configuration together on Razer's website and found out the memory upgrade alone costs an extra €900 (around $1,050) more than the price they actually paid.

    The user says, "I‘m done. I used up my luck for this timeline," and given they could have almost purchased three of their original configs for the price of the new one, I'm inclined to agree.

    The Razer label and invoice do seem to match with both the machine and the original receipt, so that implies whoever labelled this rig at the Razer factory simply labelled it wrong. That means, inevitably, this would likely have gotten into the hands of some buyer somewhere. Just don't count on it happening again. This is an exceedingly rare mistake on Razer's part.

    And what a laptop it is. We at PC Gamer are big fans of what Razer is putting out right now in the gaming laptop space. The most recent Razer Blade 16 got an 86% in our review, with our Andy saying, "It's still one of the best gaming laptops money can buy, but the massive price tag throws me for a loop."

    Razer Blade 14 (2025) gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    We also really liked last year's Razer Blade 14, with its upgraded chassis, gorgeous display, and solid battery life. Razer Blade laptops are pretty expensive, even considering the memory crisis, but their build quality and design are undeniably solid. Plus, they're gorgeous to behold.

    We don't technically know if the Redditor will get to keep this laptop, but given it seems to have been sent due to a mislabelling by the vendor selling it, I certainly wouldn't want to give it back. We also don't know if the original vendor would be aware of their mistake, unless informed.

    One look at our roundup of the best gaming laptop deals will show you that gaming laptops are in a pretty poor place right now. Around $2400 will get you an RTX 5080 and 16 GB of memory, on sale, and that's because memory, storage, and even GPUs are on the rise price-wise, and unlikely to fall for some time. Luckily, iiT2 now has enough gaming horsepower to wait until the whole thing blows over.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ I got my greasy mitts on a host of RTX Spark laptops running, what else, games at Gamescom 2026—and there's a couple I really want to take home ]]> Hello from Gamescom 2026, where yours truly has been trying out some of the latest laptops at the Nvidia booth. The machines I was shown are made by various manufacturers, but all of them have the same core internal hardware, in the form of Nvidia's RTX Spark SOC.

    Which means that, alongside 20 Grace CPU cores in the custom Arm-based chip, they've also got 6144 RTX Blackwell GPU cores to play with. And that means RTX 5070-like gaming performance, at least on paper.

    And in practice, each was demonstrated to be capable of running modern games at high frame rates. Exactly how high was kept under wraps, unfortunately, although it was mentioned that frame generation was in use for each.

    So, I wasn't able to do any benchmarking of my own, or dig into the settings menus to find out exactly what sort of DLSS/FG combination I was dealing with. Still, 007 First Light, Arc Raiders, Borderlands 4, and F1 25 were all running without a hitch, which is apparently indicative of the smooth sailing Nvidia has experienced with Microsoft's Prism translation layer.

    I asked about any unforeseen emulation issues, but nope, apparently all is well in the land of Windows-on-Arm and Nvidia chips. As for the laptops themselves, I took a few notes based on my brief time playing with them at the booth.

    An Asus ProArt P14 RTX Spark laptop at Gamescom 2026
    Future
    An Asus ProArt P14 RTX Spark laptop at Gamescom 2026
    Future

    First off, lets talk about the one I really want to take home. The Asus ProArt P14 looks and feels, for all intents and purposes, like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14—and that's a very good thing indeed. It's got a milled aluminium chassis that feels robust (yet slim in the hand), a crisp keyboard, and a beautifully vivid OLED panel.

    I had a brief run around in Arc Raiders on this particular lappy, and immediately wanted to squirrel it back to my hotel room for a proper gaming session.

    14-inch laptops are the perfect size for taking on the road, and the relative lack of weight compared to the beefier (and much older) Blade 15 Advanced in my backpack made me yearn for the little P14 instead.

    Proper gaming performance, too? It appears so, although Arc Raiders is far from the most demanding of test games. Still, while I'm not so confident in my abilities as to guess exactly what frame rate or settings combo this machine was running at, I will say it felt like 100 fps+. Ah, go on then. Probably High to Ultra settings. If I was pushed. Maybe.

    Special mention should also be given to the Dell XPS 16 Creator Edition. Yes, I associate Dell laptops with being dull as well, but this new XPS model feels excellent, and it's rather handsome, too. The keyboard is as tight as a drum, the OLED display looks great, and it wasn't making a whole lot of noise while I ripped and teared my way through Doom: The Dark Ages.

    A Dell XPS 16 Creator laptop with an RTX Spark SOC at Gamescom 2026

    (Image credit: Future)

    It feels like a civilised machine I'd be happy to sling in my bag, at least on this first impression. Both of these laptops look like the sort of thing you might expect to see in a business meeting, but the gaming ability of the RTX Spark SOC squeezed into their slim and light chassis designs is plain to see.

    Every laptop showdown, even one as brief as this, is likely to come up with an also-ran that doesn't quite cut the mustard—and for me, this comes in the form of the new Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra. In a room full of sublime competition, the chassis looks and feels... tired, while the Mini LED screen wasn't particularly enticing to behold. It was trundling away in the corner of the room running World of Tanks, and didn't garner "oohs" and "ahhs" in the same way as the rest.

    A Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra at Gamescom 2026

    (Image credit: Future)

    Despite the hardware inside, something about it says "old fashioned" to me. It's funny how we judge these things in an instant, but there we are. I'm prepared to change my mind if we get one in for review (I'm incredibly tired and cranky after a long day at the show, after all), but I get the feeling it's going to cost lots of money—without looking and feeling as good as its premium competition.

    Ah, now I've gone and done it. I've mentioned the price. Or rather, prices. The Nvidia reps around me refused to be drawn in on exact figures for these Spark-infused machines, especially as some of the models on display had a loadout of 128 GB of RAM. Ludicrous amounts, I think you'll agree, which will almost certainly be sold for ludicrous amounts of cash. For all that local AI stuff you'll be doing, naturally.

    Personally, the lesser-seen optimist living in the middle of my cold, brutal heart is still hoping for 16 GB or 32 GB variants of the Asus and Dell laptops for somewhat-reasonable figures—as more slim and light, gaming-capable machines to choose from is always a good thing.

    Looking at the state of gaming laptop prices at the moment, though, I think said optimist will probably be let down once more. It was a nice day out, at least. Anyone fancy buying me a bratwurst?

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/i-got-my-greasy-mitts-on-a-host-of-rtx-spark-laptops-running-what-else-games-at-gamescom-2026-and-theres-a-couple-i-really-want-to-take-home/ iTMfjmM8qSuNNbjk9qNXpf Wed, 26 Aug 2026 17:58:28 +0000 false false false

    Hello from Gamescom 2026, where yours truly has been trying out some of the latest laptops at the Nvidia booth. The machines I was shown are made by various manufacturers, but all of them have the same core internal hardware, in the form of Nvidia's RTX Spark SOC.

    Which means that, alongside 20 Grace CPU cores in the custom Arm-based chip, they've also got 6144 RTX Blackwell GPU cores to play with. And that means RTX 5070-like gaming performance, at least on paper.

    And in practice, each was demonstrated to be capable of running modern games at high frame rates. Exactly how high was kept under wraps, unfortunately, although it was mentioned that frame generation was in use for each.

    So, I wasn't able to do any benchmarking of my own, or dig into the settings menus to find out exactly what sort of DLSS/FG combination I was dealing with. Still, 007 First Light, Arc Raiders, Borderlands 4, and F1 25 were all running without a hitch, which is apparently indicative of the smooth sailing Nvidia has experienced with Microsoft's Prism translation layer.

    I asked about any unforeseen emulation issues, but nope, apparently all is well in the land of Windows-on-Arm and Nvidia chips. As for the laptops themselves, I took a few notes based on my brief time playing with them at the booth.

    An Asus ProArt P14 RTX Spark laptop at Gamescom 2026
    Future
    An Asus ProArt P14 RTX Spark laptop at Gamescom 2026
    Future

    First off, lets talk about the one I really want to take home. The Asus ProArt P14 looks and feels, for all intents and purposes, like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14—and that's a very good thing indeed. It's got a milled aluminium chassis that feels robust (yet slim in the hand), a crisp keyboard, and a beautifully vivid OLED panel.

    I had a brief run around in Arc Raiders on this particular lappy, and immediately wanted to squirrel it back to my hotel room for a proper gaming session.

    14-inch laptops are the perfect size for taking on the road, and the relative lack of weight compared to the beefier (and much older) Blade 15 Advanced in my backpack made me yearn for the little P14 instead.

    Proper gaming performance, too? It appears so, although Arc Raiders is far from the most demanding of test games. Still, while I'm not so confident in my abilities as to guess exactly what frame rate or settings combo this machine was running at, I will say it felt like 100 fps+. Ah, go on then. Probably High to Ultra settings. If I was pushed. Maybe.

    Special mention should also be given to the Dell XPS 16 Creator Edition. Yes, I associate Dell laptops with being dull as well, but this new XPS model feels excellent, and it's rather handsome, too. The keyboard is as tight as a drum, the OLED display looks great, and it wasn't making a whole lot of noise while I ripped and teared my way through Doom: The Dark Ages.

    A Dell XPS 16 Creator laptop with an RTX Spark SOC at Gamescom 2026

    (Image credit: Future)

    It feels like a civilised machine I'd be happy to sling in my bag, at least on this first impression. Both of these laptops look like the sort of thing you might expect to see in a business meeting, but the gaming ability of the RTX Spark SOC squeezed into their slim and light chassis designs is plain to see.

    Every laptop showdown, even one as brief as this, is likely to come up with an also-ran that doesn't quite cut the mustard—and for me, this comes in the form of the new Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra. In a room full of sublime competition, the chassis looks and feels... tired, while the Mini LED screen wasn't particularly enticing to behold. It was trundling away in the corner of the room running World of Tanks, and didn't garner "oohs" and "ahhs" in the same way as the rest.

    A Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra at Gamescom 2026

    (Image credit: Future)

    Despite the hardware inside, something about it says "old fashioned" to me. It's funny how we judge these things in an instant, but there we are. I'm prepared to change my mind if we get one in for review (I'm incredibly tired and cranky after a long day at the show, after all), but I get the feeling it's going to cost lots of money—without looking and feeling as good as its premium competition.

    Ah, now I've gone and done it. I've mentioned the price. Or rather, prices. The Nvidia reps around me refused to be drawn in on exact figures for these Spark-infused machines, especially as some of the models on display had a loadout of 128 GB of RAM. Ludicrous amounts, I think you'll agree, which will almost certainly be sold for ludicrous amounts of cash. For all that local AI stuff you'll be doing, naturally.

    Personally, the lesser-seen optimist living in the middle of my cold, brutal heart is still hoping for 16 GB or 32 GB variants of the Asus and Dell laptops for somewhat-reasonable figures—as more slim and light, gaming-capable machines to choose from is always a good thing.

    Looking at the state of gaming laptop prices at the moment, though, I think said optimist will probably be let down once more. It was a nice day out, at least. Anyone fancy buying me a bratwurst?

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W review ]]>

    If there were ever a laptop design to be right "up my alley", as we brits like to say, it would be this one. That's because it makes its sacrifices in exactly the right places to deliver something genuinely portable, sleek, elegant, and satisfying to use both for gaming and work.

    The MSI 'Stealth' laptop looks to have been reimagined along these MacBook or Razer Blade-esque lines—and successfully so—featuring a giant touchpad, thin aluminium form factor, subtle upward-facing speakers, and a spacious screen.

    It's not just a looker, though, as MSI has crammed an RTX 5080 mobile GPU into it, making for genuine high-end performance. It has, however, had to be power-limited to play nicely with the slim chassis, meaning you're not getting quite the performance you could get out of a chunkier laptop for the same very expensive price or cheaper.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You use your laptop in public: This thing definitely looks the part alongside MacBooks and other such suave devices, with its aluminium frame and giant trackpad.

    ✅ You use a USB headset: I didn't have any of the audio latency issues I noticed when using USB earphones/headset.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You like to game using the laptop speakers: I noticed definite audio latency over the default audio device with this laptop, which can be annoying in shooters, for instance.

    ❌ You just want raw performance: This laptop looks gorgeous and is very portable for a 16-inch machine, but you can get more high-end horsepower for less if you don't mind something chunkier.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Features

    Stealth 16 AI+ B3W specs

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 9 386H

    NPU

    50 TOPS

    Graphics

    RTX 5080 mobile (125 W)

    Memory

    32 GB DDR5-5600

    Storage

    1 TB SSD

    Screen size

    16-inch

    Screen type

    OLED

    Resolution

    2560 x 1600

    Refresh rate

    240 Hz

    Ports

    1x 3.5 mm audio (combo), 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen2, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI 2.1, 2.5 Gb Ethernet

    Wireless connectivity

    Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6

    Battery

    90 Wh

    Dimensions

    354 x 246 x 16.65–19.99 mm

    Weight

    1.99 kg

    Price

    $3,999.99 / £3,350 (2 TB version)

    After powering on the laptop for the first time, I was immediately impressed by how it feels to use. The trackpad doesn't require much force to press but just enough so you're not accidentally pressing it, and it has a very satisfying click. I didn't have many problems with accidentally moving the cursor while typing because of the size of the trackpad, but it did happen occasionally.

    'Satisfying' is also the word I'd use to describe the pleasantly tactile chiclet keyboard. This keyboard has four-zone RGB that I set to solid white to match the classy look.

    There's also a decent selection of ports on the Stealth, including two Thunderbolt 4, a HDMI, and even an Ethernet port. This, I found to be particularly impressive given the sleek form factor.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    Sleek, that is, and very shiny thanks to its 240 Hz OLED. It's of the 16:10 variety, too, which is the best kind as it gives you plenty of space for browsing and so on. I'd say 16-inch with a 16:10 aspect ratio is pretty much ideal for a laptop, especially one like this that's also slim and portable. The OLED panel itself is fantastic, too, with plenty of contrast thanks to the true blacks and vibrant colours. And of course the smooth 240 Hz certainly doesn't hurt in those games that can push frame rates up that high.

    Specs-wise, this particular version gives you only the choice of the Core Ultra 9 386H for the processor, but you can choose between an RTX 5070, 5070 Ti, or 5080 version. The latter two come with 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, but the RTX 5070 version comes with just 16 GB. All configs except for one 2 TB version comes with 1 TB of storage.

    The version I tested has 1 TB of storage, 32 GB of DDR5-5600 memory, and an RTX 5080 mobile. The RTX 5080 here has a big asterisk: it's a nerfed—ie, power-limited—version of the GPU. With a max draw of just 125 W, that's 50 W less juice than you get with a full-fat RTX 5080 mobile like the one in the Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10, the current best high-performance gaming laptop. That's a sacrifice made to keep things so slim, as is the choice of CPU which sacrifices some top-end compute performance for efficiency.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    So far so good, but there is one area that unfortunately rains all over the parade, and that's audio. The problem isn't the sound quality or volume, as things are great in both these respects—clear, punchy (though not as bassy as standalone speakers, of course), and plenty loud.

    The problem is latency and glitching, though mainly the former. Initially the speakers would spit every now and then, but that seemed to clear up after using the laptop for a while. I'm not sure why that is, given I had Windows update paused, but whatever the reason, I was glad when it stopped.

    The persistent problem was poor audio latency. There is a delay between my in-game action (such as shooting) and the sound coming through. It's about the same level of delay as I experience using Bluetooth earphones without any low-latency mode enabled. It only happens over the default audio device, not when I plug in a new USB device like my earphones with USB-C DAC.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    That leads me to believe it might be a problem with the default audio device drivers, and after checking various (x) discussions (x) online it seems like the problem could be with Nahimic, however I cannot confirm this. I can say that I tried different methods to disable and uninstall the drivers, which didn't work, and I also uninstalled the Norton antivirus that comes bundled with the laptop just to see if that was the issue, but that didn't resolve it. MSI says it is looking into the issue, but so far I haven't heard any results of this investigation.

    To be clear, using the speakers is fine for listening to music and for playing casual, non-shooter games, but for playing shooters the latency is definitely noticeable, meaning a separate USB audio device might be necessary. Though saying that, when testing a different MSI laptop, even switching to a different device didn't resolve the latency, though it strangely did with the Stealth.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Performance

    Given the high-end components sitting inside this MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W, it was never going to fail at churning out frames. You'd have to severely throttle an RTX 5080 laptop GPU for it to be unable to deliver playable performance. But for the Stealth's price tag we want more than just 'playable', so let's see how it does.

    1080p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    55
    32
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    52
    39
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    68
    38
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    43
    33
    020406080
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)55 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507043 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
    The MSI Stealth 16 AI+ sits between RTX 5070 and full-fat (175 W) RTX 5080 gaming laptops in 1080p performance.

    1600p (native) gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p (native) resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    34
    22
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    31
    24
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    40
    28
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    18
    8
    010203040
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)34 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)31 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)40 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507018 Avg FPS, 8 1% Low FPS
    As is the case at 1080p, at 1600p the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ sits between an RTX 5070 laptop and a full-fat (175 W) RTX 5080 laptop in its gaming performance.

    At both 1080p and 1600p (native) resolution, the power-limited RTX 5080 in the Stealth 16 AI+ tends to churn out more frames than an RTX 5070 mobile but fewer frames than an unrestricted RTX 5080 mobile. There are exceptions in my testing, though these are most likely due to the CPUs in the different laptops I compared the Stealth to. If you play mainly CPU-intensive games, you might do better with a HX chip (and a thicker laptop) rather than an H one like this.

    Real-world gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen where applicable

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    97
    53
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    95
    79
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    124
    83
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    75
    58
    037.575112.5150
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)97 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)95 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)124 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507075 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
    Again, the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ sits somewhere between an RTX 5070 and full-fat RTX 5080 gaming laptop, although with upscaling and frame gen enabled, it seems to sit a little closer to the latter.

    In terms of real-world gaming performance, ie, performance with upscaling and/or frame gen enabled, this laptop performs very well, running not too far behind a laptop with the full-fat RTX 5080 mobile. In terms of actual frame rates, in most games expect well above 60 fps on ultra settings, with ray tracing enabled, at native resolution.

    And of course expect even better than this when you lower your game settings down below max, as this will net you frame rates high enough to make good use of that 240 Hz refresh rate. Not to mention lower latency, too, because frame gen does better in terms of latency when the starting frame rate is higher.

    Extreme vs Balanced mode

    Comparing gaming performance, frequency, and temps for Extreme Performance (+ Apex) mode vs Balanced mode.

    Versus Comparison Data
    AttributeMSI Stealth 16 AI+MSI Stealth 16 AI+ (Balanced mode)
    3DMark Time Spy Extreme86467238
    Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)10289
    Gaming temperatures9283
    GPU stats20791607
    VS
    3DMark Time Spy Extreme (Overall index score)
    +19%8,646
    7,238
    Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) (Avg FPS)
    +15%102
    89
    Gaming temperatures (Avg CPU (°C))
    +11%92
    83
    GPU stats (Avg GPU freq. (MHz))
    +29%2,079
    1,607
    Putting the laptop into Balanced mode cuts down the GPU frequency and CPU temps, but does cost 15–20% performance in-game.

    While the above tests were done with the laptop in Extreme Performance mode, I also tried out the laptop in Balanced mode, which limits frequencies and temps a little and keeps the fans quieter. If you're playing graphically intensive games, I really wouldn't recommend this as the drop in performance is quite significant. It drops frame rates by about 15–20%, turning it more decidedly into something like an RTX 5070 machine, and the fan noise reduction isn't really worth that. But for less demanding games where you don't need that extra 15+%, it's a good shout.

    I also tried disabling the 'Apex Mode' which pushes things to the max, even above the 'Extreme Performance' defaults, but I found there to be little in it, just a 1-3% decrease in performance and basically no change in max temps, just 1 °C lower for the GPU.

    Overall, I'm pretty impressed with how this Stealth performs given its sleek form factor and pleasant-sounding fans (they do get loud, just not in an obnoxious way). You're getting better performance than an RTX 5070 laptop in a form factor that's usually reserved for more mid-range and less thermally expulsive internals. If you want the best performance possible from a high-end machine, this isn't it, but if you're willing to sacrifice a little for the sleek design, it's stellar.

    System performance

    The laptops are here tested against intensive benchmarks that mostly test the CPU, but also the GPU, for productivity tasks.

    Compressing (GIPS)
    Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    105.399
    98.828
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    117.88
    100.88
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    162.454
    184.259
    Framework 16 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070
    108.822
    128.355
    050100150200
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)105.399 Compressing (GIPS), 98.828 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (135 W)117.88 Compressing (GIPS), 100.88 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5080 (175 W)162.454 Compressing (GIPS), 184.259 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Framework 16 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070108.822 Compressing (GIPS), 128.355 Decompressing (GIPS)
    The MSI Stealth 16 AI+ keeps up with similar laptops for productivity, though struggles to match the chops of a 175 W RTX 5080 and more powerful Core Ultra 9 275HX.

    Productivity-wise, the story is very much the same. It's a high-end laptop, but the CPU that MSI has opted for compromises in raw horsepower to keep things light and efficient enough for the slim design.

    The Core Ultra 9 257HX in the Legion 7i Pro Gen10 runs rings around the Core Ultra 9 386H in this laptop in some benchmarks (Cinebench an 7Zip) and performs just moderately better in the rest. The Stealth's Intel chip does outperform the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 in the Framework 16, though. It's far from a bad chip, just know that you can get better if you're willing to opt for a chunkier and potentially louder laptop.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Thermals

    Real-world gaming temperatures

    Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

    Gaming temperatures

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    92
    100
    81
    87
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    72
    98
    69
    77
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    94
    105
    74
    79
    Framework 16 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070
    65
    73
    68
    71
    037.575112.5150
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)92 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 87 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (135 W)72 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5080 (175 W)94 Avg CPU (°C), 105 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)
    Framework 16 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 507065 Avg CPU (°C), 73 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
    The CPU in the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ runs pretty hot, but that's par for the course for an Intel chip. The GPU, however, runs notably hotter than other laptops we've tested. It stays well within safe limits, though.

    Both the Intel processor and the Nvidia GPU in the Stealth 16 AI+ B3W can get pretty toasty, whether gaming or doing productivity tasks. That being said, I've definitely seen some Intel chips get hotter. The GPU, on the other hand, reaches higher max temps than others I've seen, but still stays under 90 °C and well within safe limits.

    Importantly, the underside of the laptop doesn't get too hot other than right at the back near the screen, behind the stand-off ridge. If you position the laptop right, you can keep that part from touching your legs when you have it on your lap, but if you don't get it right, be prepared to feel the burn. Ditto touching above the Function keys, which gets very hot while the rest of the keyboard area stays just warm.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    And when it comes to the fans, these are fantastic (ba dum tsh). They get loud when they're working hard, but no louder than other gaming PCs I've heard when pushing things to the max. The difference here is they have nary a semblance of whine to them, just a pleasant whoosh, like a desk fan on a warm summer's day.

    Turning the performance profile down to Balanced, the same timbre is maintained but things obviously get a little quieter. It's not night-and-day, though, and as I said previously, I'd rather get the extra frames. Only if I'm trying to hear audio out of the speakers would I lower things down to Balanced—with headphones on that have a good seal around them, the fans on Extreme Performance mode aren't audible while gaming anyway.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Aesthetics

    I was immediately surprised by just how sleek and subtle the Stealth 16 AI+ B3W is. MSI's choice here makes for exactly my cup of tea because I like my laptops to be ones I'm not afraid to take out at a cafe or around less gamer-accepting folk (you know the ones).

    The 'Stealth' in its name, then, for me means it can fly somewhat under the radar as a gaming machine when I'm out and about (assuming I have the RGB turned off), but reveal its true gaming power when I get home. And in this sense it definitely succeeds, even given the power limitation caveat mentioned in the section above.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    It might seem a little greedy of me, given how well it delivers on the understated, professional look, but I think it could have potentially leaned even further in this direction. For instance, it could have got rid of the subtle embossed pattern on the lid entirely, like how Asus does with its TUF A14, another laptop I love.

    That being said, the MSI is almost all the way there, and I really can't complain. Subtle metal styling and a giant trackpad just does it for me.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Software

    MSI's software is nothing to write home about, but it's fine. Just fine, nothing more, nothing less. I like that you get to choose which modules to install, so you can only keep what you need running. For me, that was just the RGB lighting control and performance mode selections. The interface is clean, if not very aesthetically pleasing. It's not the most intuitive to navigate given the different add-on module sections/names, but once you get used to it it's (you guessed it) fine.

    MSI Center software running on an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop.
    MSI
    MSI Center software running on an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop.
    MSI
    MSI Center software running on an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop.
    MSI

    Other than that, the laptop came with Norton installed, which is worth uninstalling, in my opinion. I don't see much need for anything other than Microsoft Defender these days, and if I were going to have another antivirus on there I'd go for ESET, but that's a personal choice. Norton let me uninstall it pretty easily, at any rate.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Battery life

    Battery life

    Testing how long the battery lasts in Balanced mode, medium brightness, Wi-Fi disconnected, in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test.

    PCMark 10

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026)
    117
    Framework 16
    131
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10
    73
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+
    104
    037.575112.5150
    Battery life (minutes)
    PCMark 10 Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026)117
    Framework 16131
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen1073
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+104
    The MSI Stealth 16 AI+ lasts a fair amount of time thanks to its efficient processor while in balanced mode and its RTX 5080's lower TDP. It doesn't quite keep up with some other laptops like the Framework 16, however.

    Battery life is really helped out by the relatively efficient Panther Lake CPU here. I didn't run out of battery during a workday when in Balanced mode, and in the PCMark 10 battery life test, it fared a lot better than the Legion 7i Pro Gen10 when set to Balanced mode, showing the benefit of the power-limited GPU and more efficiency-focused CPU.

    Saying that, it didn't last as long as the HX 370-touting Framework 16, though that is probably due to the GPU rather than the CPU. In all, though, almost two hours of gameplay is a good result, and shows another benefit of the thermal and efficiency focus here.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Value

    It's hard to know what exactly to compare this laptop with. On the one hand, it could be compared to chunky gaming powerhouses like the Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10. On the other hand, it could be compared to something like the similarly sleek and luxurious Razer Blade.

    The best laptop for comparison right now, however, is probably the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026). Our Andy reviewed that laptop recently, and it shares the same CPU and GPU, although there's slightly less of a power nerf to the RTX 5080 in that laptop (it runs at up to 135 W unless fully manually unlocked to 160 W, compared to 125 W with the MSI).

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future

    The configuration with 32 GB of RAM (not tested by us) can be found for $4,400 at Best Buy right now, which is $400 more expensive than the Stealth. But given the high price, that's just an extra 10%, making the two in roughly the same ballpark. And I have to agree with Andy's sentiment here that it's not straightforward to square such a whopper price tag against the likes of cheaper but more performant high-end laptops like the Legion Pro 7i. At the time of writing, you can pick up an RTX 5080 version of that laptop for just over $3,500.

    It would be a close call but I might spend the extra $500 on the MSI for its slim chassis and premium, satisfying keyboard and trackpad, plus its fancy OLED. There is, however, a big 'but'. And that is the audio issue I mentioned earlier.

    I pretty much only ever use a USB audio device, but if I wanted to play shooters on the laptop using the default audio device, I'd be hesitant to spend so much on this laptop without a fix for the audio latency from MSI. As such, I can't recommend it as clearly as I otherwise would. Certainly not for $4,000.

    However, if you're like me and only ever use USB headphones/earphones when you load up shooters and other games that benefit from snappy audio, and if you're happy sacrificing a little performance for portability and a 'fine out in public' aesthetic, it's worth it. Well, for 2026 prices, at least.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/msi-stealth-16-ai-b3w-review/ YWioFrCHodP5VUK68GX2Q6 Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:04:21 +0000 Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:04:25 +0000 false false false

    If there were ever a laptop design to be right "up my alley", as we brits like to say, it would be this one. That's because it makes its sacrifices in exactly the right places to deliver something genuinely portable, sleek, elegant, and satisfying to use both for gaming and work.

    The MSI 'Stealth' laptop looks to have been reimagined along these MacBook or Razer Blade-esque lines—and successfully so—featuring a giant touchpad, thin aluminium form factor, subtle upward-facing speakers, and a spacious screen.

    It's not just a looker, though, as MSI has crammed an RTX 5080 mobile GPU into it, making for genuine high-end performance. It has, however, had to be power-limited to play nicely with the slim chassis, meaning you're not getting quite the performance you could get out of a chunkier laptop for the same very expensive price or cheaper.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You use your laptop in public: This thing definitely looks the part alongside MacBooks and other such suave devices, with its aluminium frame and giant trackpad.

    ✅ You use a USB headset: I didn't have any of the audio latency issues I noticed when using USB earphones/headset.

    Do not buy if...

    ❌ You like to game using the laptop speakers: I noticed definite audio latency over the default audio device with this laptop, which can be annoying in shooters, for instance.

    ❌ You just want raw performance: This laptop looks gorgeous and is very portable for a 16-inch machine, but you can get more high-end horsepower for less if you don't mind something chunkier.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Features

    Stealth 16 AI+ B3W specs

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 9 386H

    NPU

    50 TOPS

    Graphics

    RTX 5080 mobile (125 W)

    Memory

    32 GB DDR5-5600

    Storage

    1 TB SSD

    Screen size

    16-inch

    Screen type

    OLED

    Resolution

    2560 x 1600

    Refresh rate

    240 Hz

    Ports

    1x 3.5 mm audio (combo), 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen2, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI 2.1, 2.5 Gb Ethernet

    Wireless connectivity

    Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6

    Battery

    90 Wh

    Dimensions

    354 x 246 x 16.65–19.99 mm

    Weight

    1.99 kg

    Price

    $3,999.99 / £3,350 (2 TB version)

    After powering on the laptop for the first time, I was immediately impressed by how it feels to use. The trackpad doesn't require much force to press but just enough so you're not accidentally pressing it, and it has a very satisfying click. I didn't have many problems with accidentally moving the cursor while typing because of the size of the trackpad, but it did happen occasionally.

    'Satisfying' is also the word I'd use to describe the pleasantly tactile chiclet keyboard. This keyboard has four-zone RGB that I set to solid white to match the classy look.

    There's also a decent selection of ports on the Stealth, including two Thunderbolt 4, a HDMI, and even an Ethernet port. This, I found to be particularly impressive given the sleek form factor.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    Sleek, that is, and very shiny thanks to its 240 Hz OLED. It's of the 16:10 variety, too, which is the best kind as it gives you plenty of space for browsing and so on. I'd say 16-inch with a 16:10 aspect ratio is pretty much ideal for a laptop, especially one like this that's also slim and portable. The OLED panel itself is fantastic, too, with plenty of contrast thanks to the true blacks and vibrant colours. And of course the smooth 240 Hz certainly doesn't hurt in those games that can push frame rates up that high.

    Specs-wise, this particular version gives you only the choice of the Core Ultra 9 386H for the processor, but you can choose between an RTX 5070, 5070 Ti, or 5080 version. The latter two come with 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, but the RTX 5070 version comes with just 16 GB. All configs except for one 2 TB version comes with 1 TB of storage.

    The version I tested has 1 TB of storage, 32 GB of DDR5-5600 memory, and an RTX 5080 mobile. The RTX 5080 here has a big asterisk: it's a nerfed—ie, power-limited—version of the GPU. With a max draw of just 125 W, that's 50 W less juice than you get with a full-fat RTX 5080 mobile like the one in the Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10, the current best high-performance gaming laptop. That's a sacrifice made to keep things so slim, as is the choice of CPU which sacrifices some top-end compute performance for efficiency.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    So far so good, but there is one area that unfortunately rains all over the parade, and that's audio. The problem isn't the sound quality or volume, as things are great in both these respects—clear, punchy (though not as bassy as standalone speakers, of course), and plenty loud.

    The problem is latency and glitching, though mainly the former. Initially the speakers would spit every now and then, but that seemed to clear up after using the laptop for a while. I'm not sure why that is, given I had Windows update paused, but whatever the reason, I was glad when it stopped.

    The persistent problem was poor audio latency. There is a delay between my in-game action (such as shooting) and the sound coming through. It's about the same level of delay as I experience using Bluetooth earphones without any low-latency mode enabled. It only happens over the default audio device, not when I plug in a new USB device like my earphones with USB-C DAC.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    That leads me to believe it might be a problem with the default audio device drivers, and after checking various (x) discussions (x) online it seems like the problem could be with Nahimic, however I cannot confirm this. I can say that I tried different methods to disable and uninstall the drivers, which didn't work, and I also uninstalled the Norton antivirus that comes bundled with the laptop just to see if that was the issue, but that didn't resolve it. MSI says it is looking into the issue, but so far I haven't heard any results of this investigation.

    To be clear, using the speakers is fine for listening to music and for playing casual, non-shooter games, but for playing shooters the latency is definitely noticeable, meaning a separate USB audio device might be necessary. Though saying that, when testing a different MSI laptop, even switching to a different device didn't resolve the latency, though it strangely did with the Stealth.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Performance

    Given the high-end components sitting inside this MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W, it was never going to fail at churning out frames. You'd have to severely throttle an RTX 5080 laptop GPU for it to be unable to deliver playable performance. But for the Stealth's price tag we want more than just 'playable', so let's see how it does.

    1080p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    55
    32
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    52
    39
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    68
    38
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    43
    33
    020406080
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)55 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507043 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
    The MSI Stealth 16 AI+ sits between RTX 5070 and full-fat (175 W) RTX 5080 gaming laptops in 1080p performance.

    1600p (native) gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p (native) resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    34
    22
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    31
    24
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    40
    28
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    18
    8
    010203040
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)34 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)31 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)40 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507018 Avg FPS, 8 1% Low FPS
    As is the case at 1080p, at 1600p the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ sits between an RTX 5070 laptop and a full-fat (175 W) RTX 5080 laptop in its gaming performance.

    At both 1080p and 1600p (native) resolution, the power-limited RTX 5080 in the Stealth 16 AI+ tends to churn out more frames than an RTX 5070 mobile but fewer frames than an unrestricted RTX 5080 mobile. There are exceptions in my testing, though these are most likely due to the CPUs in the different laptops I compared the Stealth to. If you play mainly CPU-intensive games, you might do better with a HX chip (and a thicker laptop) rather than an H one like this.

    Real-world gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen where applicable

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    97
    53
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    95
    79
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    124
    83
    Framework 16 | RTX 5070
    75
    58
    037.575112.5150
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + upscaling (quality), 2x FG) Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W)97 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W)95 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 (175 W)124 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
    Framework 16 | RTX 507075 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
    Again, the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ sits somewhere between an RTX 5070 and full-fat RTX 5080 gaming laptop, although with upscaling and frame gen enabled, it seems to sit a little closer to the latter.

    In terms of real-world gaming performance, ie, performance with upscaling and/or frame gen enabled, this laptop performs very well, running not too far behind a laptop with the full-fat RTX 5080 mobile. In terms of actual frame rates, in most games expect well above 60 fps on ultra settings, with ray tracing enabled, at native resolution.

    And of course expect even better than this when you lower your game settings down below max, as this will net you frame rates high enough to make good use of that 240 Hz refresh rate. Not to mention lower latency, too, because frame gen does better in terms of latency when the starting frame rate is higher.

    Extreme vs Balanced mode

    Comparing gaming performance, frequency, and temps for Extreme Performance (+ Apex) mode vs Balanced mode.

    Versus Comparison Data
    AttributeMSI Stealth 16 AI+MSI Stealth 16 AI+ (Balanced mode)
    3DMark Time Spy Extreme86467238
    Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra)10289
    Gaming temperatures9283
    GPU stats20791607
    VS
    3DMark Time Spy Extreme (Overall index score)
    +19%8,646
    7,238
    Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1080p Ultra) (Avg FPS)
    +15%102
    89
    Gaming temperatures (Avg CPU (°C))
    +11%92
    83
    GPU stats (Avg GPU freq. (MHz))
    +29%2,079
    1,607
    Putting the laptop into Balanced mode cuts down the GPU frequency and CPU temps, but does cost 15–20% performance in-game.

    While the above tests were done with the laptop in Extreme Performance mode, I also tried out the laptop in Balanced mode, which limits frequencies and temps a little and keeps the fans quieter. If you're playing graphically intensive games, I really wouldn't recommend this as the drop in performance is quite significant. It drops frame rates by about 15–20%, turning it more decidedly into something like an RTX 5070 machine, and the fan noise reduction isn't really worth that. But for less demanding games where you don't need that extra 15+%, it's a good shout.

    I also tried disabling the 'Apex Mode' which pushes things to the max, even above the 'Extreme Performance' defaults, but I found there to be little in it, just a 1-3% decrease in performance and basically no change in max temps, just 1 °C lower for the GPU.

    Overall, I'm pretty impressed with how this Stealth performs given its sleek form factor and pleasant-sounding fans (they do get loud, just not in an obnoxious way). You're getting better performance than an RTX 5070 laptop in a form factor that's usually reserved for more mid-range and less thermally expulsive internals. If you want the best performance possible from a high-end machine, this isn't it, but if you're willing to sacrifice a little for the sleek design, it's stellar.

    System performance

    The laptops are here tested against intensive benchmarks that mostly test the CPU, but also the GPU, for productivity tasks.

    Compressing (GIPS)
    Decompressing (GIPS)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    105.399
    98.828
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    117.88
    100.88
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    162.454
    184.259
    Framework 16 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070
    108.822
    128.355
    050100150200
    7zip 24.07 Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)105.399 Compressing (GIPS), 98.828 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (135 W)117.88 Compressing (GIPS), 100.88 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5080 (175 W)162.454 Compressing (GIPS), 184.259 Decompressing (GIPS)
    Framework 16 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070108.822 Compressing (GIPS), 128.355 Decompressing (GIPS)
    The MSI Stealth 16 AI+ keeps up with similar laptops for productivity, though struggles to match the chops of a 175 W RTX 5080 and more powerful Core Ultra 9 275HX.

    Productivity-wise, the story is very much the same. It's a high-end laptop, but the CPU that MSI has opted for compromises in raw horsepower to keep things light and efficient enough for the slim design.

    The Core Ultra 9 257HX in the Legion 7i Pro Gen10 runs rings around the Core Ultra 9 386H in this laptop in some benchmarks (Cinebench an 7Zip) and performs just moderately better in the rest. The Stealth's Intel chip does outperform the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 in the Framework 16, though. It's far from a bad chip, just know that you can get better if you're willing to opt for a chunkier and potentially louder laptop.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Thermals

    Real-world gaming temperatures

    Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

    Gaming temperatures

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)
    92
    100
    81
    87
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (135 W)
    72
    98
    69
    77
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5080 (175 W)
    94
    105
    74
    79
    Framework 16 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 5070
    65
    73
    68
    71
    037.575112.5150
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (125 W)92 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 87 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | Intel Core Ultra 9 386H | RTX 5080 (135 W)72 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | RTX 5080 (175 W)94 Avg CPU (°C), 105 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)
    Framework 16 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | RTX 507065 Avg CPU (°C), 73 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 71 Max GPU (°C)
    The CPU in the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ runs pretty hot, but that's par for the course for an Intel chip. The GPU, however, runs notably hotter than other laptops we've tested. It stays well within safe limits, though.

    Both the Intel processor and the Nvidia GPU in the Stealth 16 AI+ B3W can get pretty toasty, whether gaming or doing productivity tasks. That being said, I've definitely seen some Intel chips get hotter. The GPU, on the other hand, reaches higher max temps than others I've seen, but still stays under 90 °C and well within safe limits.

    Importantly, the underside of the laptop doesn't get too hot other than right at the back near the screen, behind the stand-off ridge. If you position the laptop right, you can keep that part from touching your legs when you have it on your lap, but if you don't get it right, be prepared to feel the burn. Ditto touching above the Function keys, which gets very hot while the rest of the keyboard area stays just warm.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    And when it comes to the fans, these are fantastic (ba dum tsh). They get loud when they're working hard, but no louder than other gaming PCs I've heard when pushing things to the max. The difference here is they have nary a semblance of whine to them, just a pleasant whoosh, like a desk fan on a warm summer's day.

    Turning the performance profile down to Balanced, the same timbre is maintained but things obviously get a little quieter. It's not night-and-day, though, and as I said previously, I'd rather get the extra frames. Only if I'm trying to hear audio out of the speakers would I lower things down to Balanced—with headphones on that have a good seal around them, the fans on Extreme Performance mode aren't audible while gaming anyway.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Aesthetics

    I was immediately surprised by just how sleek and subtle the Stealth 16 AI+ B3W is. MSI's choice here makes for exactly my cup of tea because I like my laptops to be ones I'm not afraid to take out at a cafe or around less gamer-accepting folk (you know the ones).

    The 'Stealth' in its name, then, for me means it can fly somewhat under the radar as a gaming machine when I'm out and about (assuming I have the RGB turned off), but reveal its true gaming power when I get home. And in this sense it definitely succeeds, even given the power limitation caveat mentioned in the section above.

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).

    (Image credit: Future)

    It might seem a little greedy of me, given how well it delivers on the understated, professional look, but I think it could have potentially leaned even further in this direction. For instance, it could have got rid of the subtle embossed pattern on the lid entirely, like how Asus does with its TUF A14, another laptop I love.

    That being said, the MSI is almost all the way there, and I really can't complain. Subtle metal styling and a giant trackpad just does it for me.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Software

    MSI's software is nothing to write home about, but it's fine. Just fine, nothing more, nothing less. I like that you get to choose which modules to install, so you can only keep what you need running. For me, that was just the RGB lighting control and performance mode selections. The interface is clean, if not very aesthetically pleasing. It's not the most intuitive to navigate given the different add-on module sections/names, but once you get used to it it's (you guessed it) fine.

    MSI Center software running on an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop.
    MSI
    MSI Center software running on an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop.
    MSI
    MSI Center software running on an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop.
    MSI

    Other than that, the laptop came with Norton installed, which is worth uninstalling, in my opinion. I don't see much need for anything other than Microsoft Defender these days, and if I were going to have another antivirus on there I'd go for ESET, but that's a personal choice. Norton let me uninstall it pretty easily, at any rate.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Battery life

    Battery life

    Testing how long the battery lasts in Balanced mode, medium brightness, Wi-Fi disconnected, in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test.

    PCMark 10

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026)
    117
    Framework 16
    131
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10
    73
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+
    104
    037.575112.5150
    Battery life (minutes)
    PCMark 10 Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026)117
    Framework 16131
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen1073
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+104
    The MSI Stealth 16 AI+ lasts a fair amount of time thanks to its efficient processor while in balanced mode and its RTX 5080's lower TDP. It doesn't quite keep up with some other laptops like the Framework 16, however.

    Battery life is really helped out by the relatively efficient Panther Lake CPU here. I didn't run out of battery during a workday when in Balanced mode, and in the PCMark 10 battery life test, it fared a lot better than the Legion 7i Pro Gen10 when set to Balanced mode, showing the benefit of the power-limited GPU and more efficiency-focused CPU.

    Saying that, it didn't last as long as the HX 370-touting Framework 16, though that is probably due to the GPU rather than the CPU. In all, though, almost two hours of gameplay is a good result, and shows another benefit of the thermal and efficiency focus here.

    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ B3W Value

    It's hard to know what exactly to compare this laptop with. On the one hand, it could be compared to chunky gaming powerhouses like the Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10. On the other hand, it could be compared to something like the similarly sleek and luxurious Razer Blade.

    The best laptop for comparison right now, however, is probably the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026). Our Andy reviewed that laptop recently, and it shares the same CPU and GPU, although there's slightly less of a power nerf to the RTX 5080 in that laptop (it runs at up to 135 W unless fully manually unlocked to 160 W, compared to 125 W with the MSI).

    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future
    An MSI Stealth 16 AI+ gaming laptop with RTX 5080 mobile (125 W).
    Future

    The configuration with 32 GB of RAM (not tested by us) can be found for $4,400 at Best Buy right now, which is $400 more expensive than the Stealth. But given the high price, that's just an extra 10%, making the two in roughly the same ballpark. And I have to agree with Andy's sentiment here that it's not straightforward to square such a whopper price tag against the likes of cheaper but more performant high-end laptops like the Legion Pro 7i. At the time of writing, you can pick up an RTX 5080 version of that laptop for just over $3,500.

    It would be a close call but I might spend the extra $500 on the MSI for its slim chassis and premium, satisfying keyboard and trackpad, plus its fancy OLED. There is, however, a big 'but'. And that is the audio issue I mentioned earlier.

    I pretty much only ever use a USB audio device, but if I wanted to play shooters on the laptop using the default audio device, I'd be hesitant to spend so much on this laptop without a fix for the audio latency from MSI. As such, I can't recommend it as clearly as I otherwise would. Certainly not for $4,000.

    However, if you're like me and only ever use USB headphones/earphones when you load up shooters and other games that benefit from snappy audio, and if you're happy sacrificing a little performance for portability and a 'fine out in public' aesthetic, it's worth it. Well, for 2026 prices, at least.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Lenovo says it is 'clear' Legion Go faults 'not user error' and even devices out of warranty could be repaired 'free of charge' ]]> If after installing BIOS version N3CN42WW on your Lenovo Legion Go, you have found it unable to get past the BIOS or entirely bricked, Lenovo says it's not your fault. The good news is that you will likely be able to get it fixed for free.

    Taking to the Lenovo forums (via VideoCardz), Lenovo clarified that it was able to replicate the same bricking problem with three devices, while other Lenovo teams were able to update to N3CN42WW without any problems. They say, "as such the issue is most likely related to [a] specific component used on mainboards in a certain batch or batches, or the issue needs to have specific circumstances to manifest."

    As part of this, the employee also states that "while the root cause has not been identified yet, it is clear it is not user error."

    Finally, Lenovo confirms that those under warranty should aim to get the device fixed or replaced and "in the case of out-of-warranty devices, it should be repaired free of charge, but please check local laws."

    The user the Lenovo employee was replying to is based in the European Union, and Lenovo clarifies that those in the EU will be covered even if not under warranty if the BIOS update caused the problem.

    The Lenovo Legion Go on a red background and playing Baldur's Gate 3.

    (Image credit: Future)

    One user has replied to this post stating that they were told their Legion Go couldn't be repaired in Belgium as they were out of warranty, so one can only hope that the support team are made aware of this communication from Lenovo.

    This clarity has been expected by the Lenovo community for some time, who have been reporting bricking problems with this specific BIOS version for a while now. They were likely hoping for some sort of communication weeks ago when it first popped up, even if it were Lenovo simply acknowledging it has seen the problem. Version N3CN42WW appeared to have been released in June and was removed at the start of August, with no communication from Lenovo at the time. That means users were left in the dark for potentially weeks with a handheld that would simply not boot.

    On August 4, a post went up on the Legion Go Subreddit, warning users not to update their BIOS. The comments section for this post has multiple users claiming their devices were also bricked by the update. At the time, one user reported they were given a price of €237 (about $273) from Lenovo to fix it. It has not been made clear if any users who paid the repair fee have gotten their fee back with this new communication from Lenovo.

    Though it has not been possible to download the BIOS update via Lenovo for a few weeks now, users on Reddit were still cautious of updates even this week (though admittedly, part of that seems to be users taking the opportunity to jokingly take a swipe at Lenovo).

    Now, if you try to update your Lenovo Legion Go BIOS, you will find version N3CN40WW, which was updated on August 5 this year, but it hasn't been made clear what the difference is between this and the same version number which launched on January 6 this year. Still, even if users will be getting their devices fixed, this period of uncertainty has likely taken some of the shine off the device for some. And with the memory crisis in full swing, buying a new device is simply unfeasible for many.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/lenovo-says-it-is-clear-legion-go-faults-not-user-error-and-even-devices-out-of-warranty-could-be-repaired-free-of-charge/ kgS6UBZqSqCnCMXGDYouWm Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:23:51 +0000 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:26:21 +0000 false false false

    If after installing BIOS version N3CN42WW on your Lenovo Legion Go, you have found it unable to get past the BIOS or entirely bricked, Lenovo says it's not your fault. The good news is that you will likely be able to get it fixed for free.

    Taking to the Lenovo forums (via VideoCardz), Lenovo clarified that it was able to replicate the same bricking problem with three devices, while other Lenovo teams were able to update to N3CN42WW without any problems. They say, "as such the issue is most likely related to [a] specific component used on mainboards in a certain batch or batches, or the issue needs to have specific circumstances to manifest."

    As part of this, the employee also states that "while the root cause has not been identified yet, it is clear it is not user error."

    Finally, Lenovo confirms that those under warranty should aim to get the device fixed or replaced and "in the case of out-of-warranty devices, it should be repaired free of charge, but please check local laws."

    The user the Lenovo employee was replying to is based in the European Union, and Lenovo clarifies that those in the EU will be covered even if not under warranty if the BIOS update caused the problem.

    The Lenovo Legion Go on a red background and playing Baldur's Gate 3.

    (Image credit: Future)

    One user has replied to this post stating that they were told their Legion Go couldn't be repaired in Belgium as they were out of warranty, so one can only hope that the support team are made aware of this communication from Lenovo.

    This clarity has been expected by the Lenovo community for some time, who have been reporting bricking problems with this specific BIOS version for a while now. They were likely hoping for some sort of communication weeks ago when it first popped up, even if it were Lenovo simply acknowledging it has seen the problem. Version N3CN42WW appeared to have been released in June and was removed at the start of August, with no communication from Lenovo at the time. That means users were left in the dark for potentially weeks with a handheld that would simply not boot.

    On August 4, a post went up on the Legion Go Subreddit, warning users not to update their BIOS. The comments section for this post has multiple users claiming their devices were also bricked by the update. At the time, one user reported they were given a price of €237 (about $273) from Lenovo to fix it. It has not been made clear if any users who paid the repair fee have gotten their fee back with this new communication from Lenovo.

    Though it has not been possible to download the BIOS update via Lenovo for a few weeks now, users on Reddit were still cautious of updates even this week (though admittedly, part of that seems to be users taking the opportunity to jokingly take a swipe at Lenovo).

    Now, if you try to update your Lenovo Legion Go BIOS, you will find version N3CN40WW, which was updated on August 5 this year, but it hasn't been made clear what the difference is between this and the same version number which launched on January 6 this year. Still, even if users will be getting their devices fixed, this period of uncertainty has likely taken some of the shine off the device for some. And with the memory crisis in full swing, buying a new device is simply unfeasible for many.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI gaming laptop review ]]> I do love a good puzzle. There's something real satisfying about looking at the benchmark results and specs of two different laptops and coming to a crisp, neat conclusion on why one, that's so similar on paper, performs so differently to another. That's great and all, but the fact that that fact is even a thing is a problem. The fact that we're talking about that fact here right now, as a thing, with Acer's latest Predator Helios Neo is a problem. And it shouldn't be.

    Because you should be able to look at any laptop, see a GPU name, and know what performance you're getting, straight away. It shouldn't be ambiguous. You shouldn't have to dive into reviews, and you shouldn't need to go hunting around in the murky deep waters of spec manuals, trying to find out exactly if this new RTX 5080 is only as good as an RTX 5060, or secretly an RTX 5090 pretending to be an RTX 5070. And yet here we are. Same problem. Different day. But interestingly, it's not just the wattage caps that are entirely the bloody issue for once (like they almost always are). And I'll get to that frustrating stuff, but first, let's talk up the good stuff, shall we? Because there's a lot to like here.

    This is Acer's latest Helios Neo 16S AI. It's not actually available yet, properly, so pricing is slim on the ground (and of course there are also 23 different specs per region with slightly different memory and SSD setups), but it's been revamped specifically for this year, and announced admittedly (I'm a slow reviewer) in May. And it's stunning.

    Helios NEO 16S AI

    Model No

    PHN16S-i71-936M

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus

    GPU

    Nvidia RTX 5080 115W

    RAM

    32GB DDR5-6400

    Storage

    2x 1TB Kingston OM8PJP41024K3-CA0 PCIe 4.0 SSDs

    Screen Size

    16-inch OLED

    Refresh Rate

    240 Hz

    Resolution

    2560x1600

    Battery

    92 Whr

    Dimensions

    19.9 x 356.8 x 275.5mm | 0.78 x 14.05 x 10.85 inches

    Weight

    2.3 kg | 5.07 lbs

    Price

    $3,299 | UK pricing TBC

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want the best screen on a gaming laptop, wrapped in something that's actually portable: This is a high-end, full-size desktop monitor spec, strapped to a chassis that you can shove in a backpack. A beautiful inky display that's vibrant, high refresh, and stupid quick on response.

    Don't buy if..

    ❌ You want to pay RTX 5080 money for RTX 5080 performance: At 115 W, with a cooling solution that folds under CPU-heavy titles, this is RTX 5070-class performance dressed up in a tux, and not the cute open-source penguin kind.

    You've got a beautiful, crisp glossy OLED display, surrounded by a super-thin bezel, pumping out a 240 Hz refresh rate across a 2560x1600 res, with a VESA-certified DisplayHDR True Black 500 rating. It's situated on top of a ridiculously thin chassis body (20mm deep), with clean, sharp edges, and a finish that, although not super premium on feel, looks great. With a delicate, sensitive touchpad and a simple yet efficient RGB keyboard.

    There's buckets of connectivity here too, including three USB Type A, two USB Type C, HDMI, drop-jaw ethernet, Micro-SD card reader, and somehow (I do suspect I know how) Acer's also crammed in 92 Whrs of battery into this thing, in assumedly the same manner that I've managed to stuff 32,673 unread PR messages into my email archive in the last year (yes Intel I'll give you your Core i7 6700K back when I'm good and ready thankyou).

    This is the bit where I crack my knuckles, put on my reviewer's cap (jokes on you, it's flat and it's always on), and tell you what the hell is going on in terms of performance, because on paper the Helios NEO looks incredible. There's 32GB of DDR5 running at a sumptuous 6400 MT/s, Intel's latest Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (with a staggering 24 cores), and an RTX 5080 16GB GPU, backed up with a 115 W TGP limit. Yowzer. All tied to that gorgeous OLED display too.

    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future

    You've got all of that power ready to go. So the performance is good, right? It's good, right? Errr, well, I mean, you get some. It's there. Side-by-side, compared to Lenovo's Legion 9i Gen 10, it's kind of average, kinda bad. Even compared to the Nitro V 16 AI I reviewed earlier in the year (the one with a 95W RTX 5070), it barely hits numbers higher than that can muster. At least in-game, which is problematic as that RTX 5070 machine is about two grand cheaper.

    1 / 3

    1080p gaming performance

    Testing the 1080p gaming performance of gaming laptops

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | RTX 5080 115 W
    48
    29
    Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 95 W
    39
    24
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 175 W
    68
    38
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 175 W
    68
    48
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | RTX 5080 115 W48 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS
    Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 95 W39 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 175 W68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 175 W68 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
    The low wattage RTX 5080 obviously struggles to keep pace with the higher spec GPUs and only just stays ahead of the RTX 5070 at times.

    Now I'll let the charts do the talking predominantly for the rest of the figures, but the key numbers I want to focus on are how the Helios handles Metro Exodus at 1080p, because it's really telling on a number of fronts.

    So during that benchmark run, we measure average and max temps for the CPU and the graphics card, alongside GPU clock speed and power draw. We measure all through those runs, which last for about 10 minutes or so. Reason being is that it's a really good simultaneous load test for both the CPU and the GPU in a gaming environment, particularly at a lower res, as it stresses the CPU more than it would at 1440p or 4K.

    Average power draw for the RTX 5080 in that result was 66W. It's got 115W to play with, remember, which means the load for the card is sitting about 49W lower than it potentially could be if it was running at full tilt. Similarly, the CPU maxed out at 105 degrees Celsius and averaged 77 Celsius across the runs, which isn't super hot on the average. Now, the chip is Intel's latest "refreshed" (I use that term lightly), Arrow Lake, 24-core. It's hot, it's hungry, it's stable at high temps, and did I mention it's well hot?

    System performance

    Testing the power and thermal performance of the laptop across three 1080p runs of Metro Exodus: Enhanced

    Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
    Avg GPU power (W)
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | RTX 5080 115 W
    1573
    66
    Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 95 W
    2217
    75
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 175 W
    2375
    127
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 175 W
    2480
    132
    GPU stats Data
    ProductValue
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | RTX 5080 115 W1573 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 66 Avg GPU power (W)
    Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 95 W2217 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 75 Avg GPU power (W)
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 175 W2375 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 127 Avg GPU power (W)
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 175 W2480 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 132 Avg GPU power (W)
    It is clear where the Predator is falling down in terms of being able to keep its GPU running at high performance levels.

    Compared to the Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10, which is similarly equipped (RTX 5080 175W, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, much RAM, SSDs, etc), the results are dramatic, even across its two profiles. There's a 35 fps difference between the two at 1080p (with both laptops in gaming mode), the clock speeds are a whole 1 GHz apart on the GPU, power draw is exactly double; and interestingly, the CPU maxes out at a similar 105 degrees, but averages 10 degrees more at 87 °C over the duration of the test.

    On paper, for the Neo, it logically sounds predictable, right? Clearly it's throttling at 1080p, that then chokes out the graphics card, which can't draw system resources to generate the frames, and so you get a 35 fps deficit, high temps on the CPU, and low temps and clock speeds on the GPU as a result. But that only tells half the story. Because if that is the case, then why is the average CPU temp 10 degrees lower than its Legion counterpart?

    And here's the thing: we shouldn't assume that identical or similar temperature readings across these two CPUs, in these two configurations, represent identical or similar clock speeds or, more importantly, performance, for that matter. The 9i in its gaming profile, maxing at 105 °C and averaging 87 °C, isn't the same as the Neo doing 105 °C and 77 °C. In fact, I believe (I can't test this as we no longer have the Legion), it's actually an issue with the cooling.

    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future

    Because the thermal management system in the Lenovo Legion 9i is larger because of its chassis size, although the chip is hitting similar temps, it may well be that it can sustain higher clock speeds for longer without necessarily hitting thermal limits on the cooling setup. Lenovo's cooling solution can likely handle a larger volume of heat (these cooling solutions are shared between both the CPU and GPU), whereas the Predator Helios Neo can handle significantly less before it thermally overloads, which then forces the Neo to drop the clock speed of its CPU down to avoid thermal runaway and keep the system stable, which in turn throttles performance across the graphics card, dropping the CPU temperature, GPU power draw and clock speed simultaneously. The chips are still thermally throttling technically, but it's because of the cooling capacity reaching its ceiling, not because of the chips themselves.

    Basically, because the Predator Helios Neo has such a small footprint and is so slim, and Acer's crammed that 92 WHr battery in there, it can't accommodate the cooling to let the chips run at the speeds that they're capable of, so it slows them down to prevent any overly aggressive damage affecting the silicon long-term. Which is why, even in advance of that, that power ceiling for the RTX 5080 is stuck at a lowly 115W, and yet even despite that, it struggles in titles where the CPU can let loose.

    What I do find ironic, and more telling, is that Lenovo's "quiet" profile is actually quite similar to Acer's "gaming" mode. With nearly identical GPU power and similar(ish) clock speeds, albeit with considerably lower CPU temperatures.

    Battery life

    Using PCMark 10's Gaming battery life test to measure how long the system runs a looping 3DMark Firestrike test

    PCMark 10

    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | 92 Wh
    53
    Acer Nitro V16 | 76 Wh
    140
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | 99.9 Wh
    73
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | 99.9 Wh
    57
    037.575112.5150
    Battery life (minutes)
    PCMark 10 Data
    ProductValue
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | 92 Wh53
    Acer Nitro V16 | 76 Wh140
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | 99.9 Wh73
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | 99.9 Wh57
    Despite the thin and light chassis, you're not going to be gaming on the go with the Helios NEO on the regular.

    What's worse is that I can't tell if this was a good design trade-off or not, because in our battery life test, it only lasted 53 minutes. One of the lowest results I've seen for what feels like an eternity. There's a good argument to be had here that you should probably skip the RTX 5080 version entirely and opt for the lower-spec 5070 Ti variant instead. You'll get a longer battery life, more accessible performance, and a cooler laptop at a cheaper price tag; and still one that comes with that beautiful screen, design, and port setup.

    Creator performance

    Measuring the CPU and GPU's compute power for creative tasks, such as rendering

    Multi-core index score
    Single-core index score
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
    1705
    135
    Acer Nitro V16 | Ryzen 7 260
    887
    103
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    2039
    138
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    2122
    132
    Cinebench 2024 Data
    ProductValue
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus1705 Multi-core index score, 135 Single-core index score
    Acer Nitro V16 | Ryzen 7 260887 Multi-core index score, 103 Single-core index score
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX2039 Multi-core index score, 138 Single-core index score
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX2122 Multi-core index score, 132 Single-core index score

    Quickly wrapping up the rest of the specs, as I'm very aware I've spent half this review writing a small dissertation on product design considerations and thermal envelopes, CPU performance was genuinely astonishing. The results were outstanding in Cinebench, particularly on the single-core, which scored a huge 135 points. Multi-core flagged a touch at 1,705 points, but again, I'd chalk that up to the cooling being the limiting factor, not the chip itself. Oh, and the twin 1 TB Kingston SSDs in this thing are incredibly slow, with some of the worst results I've seen in 3DMark's storage test this generation. No doubt a sign of the NAND end-times.

    I think I complain about this in almost every laptop review, but I'm so tired of the current ecosystem being the way it is. Whether that's single vs dual-channel RAM configs continually being spirited away disguised as "oh, it's user choice", or different laptop GPUs coming in at different wattages and performing vastly different to one another. It's just so frustrating to navigate as someone who's looking to buy one, and the sad fact is, the Helios Neo is incredible; everything about it, from an exterior perspective, hell, even down to the sticker, makes it look like one of the best gaming laptops money can buy. And yet, open up a simple 1080p test, and it simply falls over. All because form came before function. And that's it. A cascade of minor decisions leading to a bigger impact than you could've predicted.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/acer-predator-helios-neo-16s-ai-review/ NxoiRUG9zEX5pCTyQbyoFm Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:11:35 +0000 Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:11:39 +0000 false false false

    I do love a good puzzle. There's something real satisfying about looking at the benchmark results and specs of two different laptops and coming to a crisp, neat conclusion on why one, that's so similar on paper, performs so differently to another. That's great and all, but the fact that that fact is even a thing is a problem. The fact that we're talking about that fact here right now, as a thing, with Acer's latest Predator Helios Neo is a problem. And it shouldn't be.

    Because you should be able to look at any laptop, see a GPU name, and know what performance you're getting, straight away. It shouldn't be ambiguous. You shouldn't have to dive into reviews, and you shouldn't need to go hunting around in the murky deep waters of spec manuals, trying to find out exactly if this new RTX 5080 is only as good as an RTX 5060, or secretly an RTX 5090 pretending to be an RTX 5070. And yet here we are. Same problem. Different day. But interestingly, it's not just the wattage caps that are entirely the bloody issue for once (like they almost always are). And I'll get to that frustrating stuff, but first, let's talk up the good stuff, shall we? Because there's a lot to like here.

    This is Acer's latest Helios Neo 16S AI. It's not actually available yet, properly, so pricing is slim on the ground (and of course there are also 23 different specs per region with slightly different memory and SSD setups), but it's been revamped specifically for this year, and announced admittedly (I'm a slow reviewer) in May. And it's stunning.

    Helios NEO 16S AI

    Model No

    PHN16S-i71-936M

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus

    GPU

    Nvidia RTX 5080 115W

    RAM

    32GB DDR5-6400

    Storage

    2x 1TB Kingston OM8PJP41024K3-CA0 PCIe 4.0 SSDs

    Screen Size

    16-inch OLED

    Refresh Rate

    240 Hz

    Resolution

    2560x1600

    Battery

    92 Whr

    Dimensions

    19.9 x 356.8 x 275.5mm | 0.78 x 14.05 x 10.85 inches

    Weight

    2.3 kg | 5.07 lbs

    Price

    $3,299 | UK pricing TBC

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want the best screen on a gaming laptop, wrapped in something that's actually portable: This is a high-end, full-size desktop monitor spec, strapped to a chassis that you can shove in a backpack. A beautiful inky display that's vibrant, high refresh, and stupid quick on response.

    Don't buy if..

    ❌ You want to pay RTX 5080 money for RTX 5080 performance: At 115 W, with a cooling solution that folds under CPU-heavy titles, this is RTX 5070-class performance dressed up in a tux, and not the cute open-source penguin kind.

    You've got a beautiful, crisp glossy OLED display, surrounded by a super-thin bezel, pumping out a 240 Hz refresh rate across a 2560x1600 res, with a VESA-certified DisplayHDR True Black 500 rating. It's situated on top of a ridiculously thin chassis body (20mm deep), with clean, sharp edges, and a finish that, although not super premium on feel, looks great. With a delicate, sensitive touchpad and a simple yet efficient RGB keyboard.

    There's buckets of connectivity here too, including three USB Type A, two USB Type C, HDMI, drop-jaw ethernet, Micro-SD card reader, and somehow (I do suspect I know how) Acer's also crammed in 92 Whrs of battery into this thing, in assumedly the same manner that I've managed to stuff 32,673 unread PR messages into my email archive in the last year (yes Intel I'll give you your Core i7 6700K back when I'm good and ready thankyou).

    This is the bit where I crack my knuckles, put on my reviewer's cap (jokes on you, it's flat and it's always on), and tell you what the hell is going on in terms of performance, because on paper the Helios NEO looks incredible. There's 32GB of DDR5 running at a sumptuous 6400 MT/s, Intel's latest Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (with a staggering 24 cores), and an RTX 5080 16GB GPU, backed up with a 115 W TGP limit. Yowzer. All tied to that gorgeous OLED display too.

    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future

    You've got all of that power ready to go. So the performance is good, right? It's good, right? Errr, well, I mean, you get some. It's there. Side-by-side, compared to Lenovo's Legion 9i Gen 10, it's kind of average, kinda bad. Even compared to the Nitro V 16 AI I reviewed earlier in the year (the one with a 95W RTX 5070), it barely hits numbers higher than that can muster. At least in-game, which is problematic as that RTX 5070 machine is about two grand cheaper.

    1 / 3

    1080p gaming performance

    Testing the 1080p gaming performance of gaming laptops

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | RTX 5080 115 W
    48
    29
    Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 95 W
    39
    24
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 175 W
    68
    38
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 175 W
    68
    48
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | RTX 5080 115 W48 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS
    Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 95 W39 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 175 W68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 175 W68 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
    The low wattage RTX 5080 obviously struggles to keep pace with the higher spec GPUs and only just stays ahead of the RTX 5070 at times.

    Now I'll let the charts do the talking predominantly for the rest of the figures, but the key numbers I want to focus on are how the Helios handles Metro Exodus at 1080p, because it's really telling on a number of fronts.

    So during that benchmark run, we measure average and max temps for the CPU and the graphics card, alongside GPU clock speed and power draw. We measure all through those runs, which last for about 10 minutes or so. Reason being is that it's a really good simultaneous load test for both the CPU and the GPU in a gaming environment, particularly at a lower res, as it stresses the CPU more than it would at 1440p or 4K.

    Average power draw for the RTX 5080 in that result was 66W. It's got 115W to play with, remember, which means the load for the card is sitting about 49W lower than it potentially could be if it was running at full tilt. Similarly, the CPU maxed out at 105 degrees Celsius and averaged 77 Celsius across the runs, which isn't super hot on the average. Now, the chip is Intel's latest "refreshed" (I use that term lightly), Arrow Lake, 24-core. It's hot, it's hungry, it's stable at high temps, and did I mention it's well hot?

    System performance

    Testing the power and thermal performance of the laptop across three 1080p runs of Metro Exodus: Enhanced

    Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
    Avg GPU power (W)
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | RTX 5080 115 W
    1573
    66
    Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 95 W
    2217
    75
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 175 W
    2375
    127
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 175 W
    2480
    132
    GPU stats Data
    ProductValue
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | RTX 5080 115 W1573 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 66 Avg GPU power (W)
    Acer Nitro V16 | RTX 5070 95 W2217 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 75 Avg GPU power (W)
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | RTX 5080 175 W2375 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 127 Avg GPU power (W)
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 175 W2480 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 132 Avg GPU power (W)
    It is clear where the Predator is falling down in terms of being able to keep its GPU running at high performance levels.

    Compared to the Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10, which is similarly equipped (RTX 5080 175W, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, much RAM, SSDs, etc), the results are dramatic, even across its two profiles. There's a 35 fps difference between the two at 1080p (with both laptops in gaming mode), the clock speeds are a whole 1 GHz apart on the GPU, power draw is exactly double; and interestingly, the CPU maxes out at a similar 105 degrees, but averages 10 degrees more at 87 °C over the duration of the test.

    On paper, for the Neo, it logically sounds predictable, right? Clearly it's throttling at 1080p, that then chokes out the graphics card, which can't draw system resources to generate the frames, and so you get a 35 fps deficit, high temps on the CPU, and low temps and clock speeds on the GPU as a result. But that only tells half the story. Because if that is the case, then why is the average CPU temp 10 degrees lower than its Legion counterpart?

    And here's the thing: we shouldn't assume that identical or similar temperature readings across these two CPUs, in these two configurations, represent identical or similar clock speeds or, more importantly, performance, for that matter. The 9i in its gaming profile, maxing at 105 °C and averaging 87 °C, isn't the same as the Neo doing 105 °C and 77 °C. In fact, I believe (I can't test this as we no longer have the Legion), it's actually an issue with the cooling.

    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future
    Acer Predator Helio NEO 16S AI
    Future

    Because the thermal management system in the Lenovo Legion 9i is larger because of its chassis size, although the chip is hitting similar temps, it may well be that it can sustain higher clock speeds for longer without necessarily hitting thermal limits on the cooling setup. Lenovo's cooling solution can likely handle a larger volume of heat (these cooling solutions are shared between both the CPU and GPU), whereas the Predator Helios Neo can handle significantly less before it thermally overloads, which then forces the Neo to drop the clock speed of its CPU down to avoid thermal runaway and keep the system stable, which in turn throttles performance across the graphics card, dropping the CPU temperature, GPU power draw and clock speed simultaneously. The chips are still thermally throttling technically, but it's because of the cooling capacity reaching its ceiling, not because of the chips themselves.

    Basically, because the Predator Helios Neo has such a small footprint and is so slim, and Acer's crammed that 92 WHr battery in there, it can't accommodate the cooling to let the chips run at the speeds that they're capable of, so it slows them down to prevent any overly aggressive damage affecting the silicon long-term. Which is why, even in advance of that, that power ceiling for the RTX 5080 is stuck at a lowly 115W, and yet even despite that, it struggles in titles where the CPU can let loose.

    What I do find ironic, and more telling, is that Lenovo's "quiet" profile is actually quite similar to Acer's "gaming" mode. With nearly identical GPU power and similar(ish) clock speeds, albeit with considerably lower CPU temperatures.

    Battery life

    Using PCMark 10's Gaming battery life test to measure how long the system runs a looping 3DMark Firestrike test

    PCMark 10

    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | 92 Wh
    53
    Acer Nitro V16 | 76 Wh
    140
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | 99.9 Wh
    73
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | 99.9 Wh
    57
    037.575112.5150
    Battery life (minutes)
    PCMark 10 Data
    ProductValue
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | 92 Wh53
    Acer Nitro V16 | 76 Wh140
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | 99.9 Wh73
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | 99.9 Wh57
    Despite the thin and light chassis, you're not going to be gaming on the go with the Helios NEO on the regular.

    What's worse is that I can't tell if this was a good design trade-off or not, because in our battery life test, it only lasted 53 minutes. One of the lowest results I've seen for what feels like an eternity. There's a good argument to be had here that you should probably skip the RTX 5080 version entirely and opt for the lower-spec 5070 Ti variant instead. You'll get a longer battery life, more accessible performance, and a cooler laptop at a cheaper price tag; and still one that comes with that beautiful screen, design, and port setup.

    Creator performance

    Measuring the CPU and GPU's compute power for creative tasks, such as rendering

    Multi-core index score
    Single-core index score
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
    1705
    135
    Acer Nitro V16 | Ryzen 7 260
    887
    103
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    2039
    138
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    2122
    132
    Cinebench 2024 Data
    ProductValue
    Acer Predator Helios NEO 16S AI | Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus1705 Multi-core index score, 135 Single-core index score
    Acer Nitro V16 | Ryzen 7 260887 Multi-core index score, 103 Single-core index score
    Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Gen10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX2039 Multi-core index score, 138 Single-core index score
    Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX2122 Multi-core index score, 132 Single-core index score

    Quickly wrapping up the rest of the specs, as I'm very aware I've spent half this review writing a small dissertation on product design considerations and thermal envelopes, CPU performance was genuinely astonishing. The results were outstanding in Cinebench, particularly on the single-core, which scored a huge 135 points. Multi-core flagged a touch at 1,705 points, but again, I'd chalk that up to the cooling being the limiting factor, not the chip itself. Oh, and the twin 1 TB Kingston SSDs in this thing are incredibly slow, with some of the worst results I've seen in 3DMark's storage test this generation. No doubt a sign of the NAND end-times.

    I think I complain about this in almost every laptop review, but I'm so tired of the current ecosystem being the way it is. Whether that's single vs dual-channel RAM configs continually being spirited away disguised as "oh, it's user choice", or different laptop GPUs coming in at different wattages and performing vastly different to one another. It's just so frustrating to navigate as someone who's looking to buy one, and the sad fact is, the Helios Neo is incredible; everything about it, from an exterior perspective, hell, even down to the sticker, makes it look like one of the best gaming laptops money can buy. And yet, open up a simple 1080p test, and it simply falls over. All because form came before function. And that's it. A cascade of minor decisions leading to a bigger impact than you could've predicted.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ The new Framework 12 laptop's secret weapon is its battery life courtesy of Intel's Wildcat Lake ]]> Framework has just announced a new version of its Framework 12 laptop that apparently gets a bunch more battery life. That's despite it keeping the same 50 Wh battery and thanks to Intel's Wildcat Lake processors.

    The Framework 12 is the company's two-in-one (touch-and-type), low-power, entry-level offering, mainly used for study and light work. Previously it used low-power Raptor Lake-U (13th Gen) processors, but now ones that you pre-order will use fresh—but still low-power—Wildcat Lake, ie, Core Series 3, processors.

    Framework currently lists a few options to choose from:

    New Framework 12 options

    Max clock speed

    Cores

    Price

    Core 3 304

    4.3 GHz

    1 P + 4 LPE

    $549 / £549

    Core 5 320

    4.6 GHz

    2 P + 4 LPE

    $779 / £779

    Core 7 350

    4.8 GHz

    2P + 4 LPE

    $999 / £999

    Those prices are, of course, base prices before adding on the other storage and memory to your DIY kit.

    These processors obviously won't get you close to running any kind of heavy productivity tasks with ease, but for general day-to-day use they should be fine. It's also unlikely to be great for gaming, given even the top processor here, the Intel Core 7 350, has just two Xe (GPU) cores. Even Intel's newly-rumoured low-power handheld processor is said to have four.

    That being said, the switch to Wildcat Lake, Framework claims, greatly improves battery life. The company is claiming 57% extra hours while browsing the web and 70% extra hours streaming Netflix. Those are some bold claims, but given what we've seen of Panther Lake's battery life (different processors but using the same 18A node), it's not beyond believability.

    There are a number of other improvements, including:

    • Wi-Fi 7
    • Backlit keyboard
    • Thunderbolt 4
    • Fingerprint reader
    • Pre-installed Fedora Linux

    Of course installing Linux isn't exactly difficult, but it's nice to see Fedora installed by default for those who just want to buy a laptop and get to it, right out of the box.

    Fedora in particular is a great choice, in my not-so-humble opinion. It at least gave me a better time of things than many other distros did. But hey, I don't want to go sparking the perennial distro debates in the comments.

    Other than those changes, you're getting the same convertible, two-in-one touch and type lappy as before.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/the-new-framework-12-laptops-secret-weapon-is-its-battery-life-courtesy-of-intels-wildcat-lake/ Ka4tpGbdn7j5XFx6RwAiT9 Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:32:08 +0000 false false false

    Framework has just announced a new version of its Framework 12 laptop that apparently gets a bunch more battery life. That's despite it keeping the same 50 Wh battery and thanks to Intel's Wildcat Lake processors.

    The Framework 12 is the company's two-in-one (touch-and-type), low-power, entry-level offering, mainly used for study and light work. Previously it used low-power Raptor Lake-U (13th Gen) processors, but now ones that you pre-order will use fresh—but still low-power—Wildcat Lake, ie, Core Series 3, processors.

    Framework currently lists a few options to choose from:

    New Framework 12 options

    Max clock speed

    Cores

    Price

    Core 3 304

    4.3 GHz

    1 P + 4 LPE

    $549 / £549

    Core 5 320

    4.6 GHz

    2 P + 4 LPE

    $779 / £779

    Core 7 350

    4.8 GHz

    2P + 4 LPE

    $999 / £999

    Those prices are, of course, base prices before adding on the other storage and memory to your DIY kit.

    These processors obviously won't get you close to running any kind of heavy productivity tasks with ease, but for general day-to-day use they should be fine. It's also unlikely to be great for gaming, given even the top processor here, the Intel Core 7 350, has just two Xe (GPU) cores. Even Intel's newly-rumoured low-power handheld processor is said to have four.

    That being said, the switch to Wildcat Lake, Framework claims, greatly improves battery life. The company is claiming 57% extra hours while browsing the web and 70% extra hours streaming Netflix. Those are some bold claims, but given what we've seen of Panther Lake's battery life (different processors but using the same 18A node), it's not beyond believability.

    There are a number of other improvements, including:

    • Wi-Fi 7
    • Backlit keyboard
    • Thunderbolt 4
    • Fingerprint reader
    • Pre-installed Fedora Linux

    Of course installing Linux isn't exactly difficult, but it's nice to see Fedora installed by default for those who just want to buy a laptop and get to it, right out of the box.

    Fedora in particular is a great choice, in my not-so-humble opinion. It at least gave me a better time of things than many other distros did. But hey, I don't want to go sparking the perennial distro debates in the comments.

    Other than those changes, you're getting the same convertible, two-in-one touch and type lappy as before.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Intel might be cooking up a budget-friendly handheld chip but I'd still be surprised if it's cheap enough or fast enough to matter ]]> Handhelds aren't exactly the most exciting devices right now given just how prohibitively expensive they've become, but you'd better bet my ears perk up a little when I hear of more possible budget-oriented hardware. That's what we could soon have from Intel, if prolific hardware leaker Jaykihn's recent X post is correct.

    Decoding the string of numbers, according to Jaykihn, Intel will release a Panther Lake chip with four Performance-cores, no Efficient-cores, four low-power Efficient cores, and most crucially, four Xe cores. Ie, four GPU cores.

    Earlier this year, Intel announced the Arc G3 and G3 Extreme processors, aimed squarely at the handheld market. These scaled back the CPU cores but kept plenty of those juicy Xe GPU cores in there—10 and 12, respectively.

    Prior to this, to get such Xe cores you had to have, at minimum, the four P-Cores, eight E-Cores, and four LPE-Cores in the Core Ultra X7 358H. The G3 Extreme cut this down to just two P-Cores, and the same number of E-Cores and LPE-Cores. In other words, less CPU grunt but just as much GPU grunt.

    Our Dave got his mitts on a handheld with the G3 Extreme in earlier this year and was very impressed. He's since reviewed it and, setting aside its price tag for a moment, remained impressed. The 12 Xe cores really do deliver when crammed into small devices like handheld gaming PCs.

    The problem, however, is pricing. Handhelds in general have shot up in price over the past few months, and the G3 Extreme is proving no exception to this. A handheld with one of these in can cost just as much as a midrange or even high-end gaming PC, even given the current inflated PC market. There's no need to mince our words: handheld gaming PCs are cooked right now.

    MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld gaming PC

    (Image credit: Future)

    So, if Intel does bring out a Panther Lake chip with just four Xe cores, it could—one would hope—stand a chance of sitting in some less ridiculously-priced but also less-performant handhelds. However, to echo Gandalf's wise words to Pippin: perhaps that's just a fool's hope. Because after all, it's a memory shortage we're in, not a processor shortage, and the handhelds will still have to secure expensive memory and storage. If Intel ditches the G-series branding, it can get away with slower memory, at least.

    We'll just have to wait and see. Scaling all the way back to four Xe cores will put it behind even the eight Xe cores in the previous gen Core Ultra 7 258V's Arc 140V, which adorned the then-high-end MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM. Though the new one, if it comes to fruition, would have newer Xe3 cores compared to the latter's Xe2 cores, so it wouldn't be apples-to-apples. At any rate, the main question will be the mainstay for 2026: pricing.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/intel-might-be-cooking-up-a-budget-friendly-handheld-chip-but-id-still-be-surprised-if-its-cheap-enough-or-fast-enough-to-matter/ K2h36HPNbhnTj52vVRoeJN Mon, 17 Aug 2026 15:26:59 +0000 false false false

    Handhelds aren't exactly the most exciting devices right now given just how prohibitively expensive they've become, but you'd better bet my ears perk up a little when I hear of more possible budget-oriented hardware. That's what we could soon have from Intel, if prolific hardware leaker Jaykihn's recent X post is correct.

    Decoding the string of numbers, according to Jaykihn, Intel will release a Panther Lake chip with four Performance-cores, no Efficient-cores, four low-power Efficient cores, and most crucially, four Xe cores. Ie, four GPU cores.

    Earlier this year, Intel announced the Arc G3 and G3 Extreme processors, aimed squarely at the handheld market. These scaled back the CPU cores but kept plenty of those juicy Xe GPU cores in there—10 and 12, respectively.

    Prior to this, to get such Xe cores you had to have, at minimum, the four P-Cores, eight E-Cores, and four LPE-Cores in the Core Ultra X7 358H. The G3 Extreme cut this down to just two P-Cores, and the same number of E-Cores and LPE-Cores. In other words, less CPU grunt but just as much GPU grunt.

    Our Dave got his mitts on a handheld with the G3 Extreme in earlier this year and was very impressed. He's since reviewed it and, setting aside its price tag for a moment, remained impressed. The 12 Xe cores really do deliver when crammed into small devices like handheld gaming PCs.

    The problem, however, is pricing. Handhelds in general have shot up in price over the past few months, and the G3 Extreme is proving no exception to this. A handheld with one of these in can cost just as much as a midrange or even high-end gaming PC, even given the current inflated PC market. There's no need to mince our words: handheld gaming PCs are cooked right now.

    MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld gaming PC

    (Image credit: Future)

    So, if Intel does bring out a Panther Lake chip with just four Xe cores, it could—one would hope—stand a chance of sitting in some less ridiculously-priced but also less-performant handhelds. However, to echo Gandalf's wise words to Pippin: perhaps that's just a fool's hope. Because after all, it's a memory shortage we're in, not a processor shortage, and the handhelds will still have to secure expensive memory and storage. If Intel ditches the G-series branding, it can get away with slower memory, at least.

    We'll just have to wait and see. Scaling all the way back to four Xe cores will put it behind even the eight Xe cores in the previous gen Core Ultra 7 258V's Arc 140V, which adorned the then-high-end MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM. Though the new one, if it comes to fruition, would have newer Xe3 cores compared to the latter's Xe2 cores, so it wouldn't be apples-to-apples. At any rate, the main question will be the mainstay for 2026: pricing.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ A redditor is making super-fancy marble Steam Machine faceplates, *allegedly* sourced from the same quarry as Michelangelo ]]> While I have my issues with the Steam Machine (mostly surrounding its price tag), I really do love the way it looks. It's a classy device, particularly as you can swap out the magnetic faceplates to your taste. I've seen some fairly tasteful designs so far, but none more OTT than this marble version from redditor GinoWT.

    The marble used is supposedly from the Carrara quarry basin, which is the one Michelangelo worked from. I know absolutely nothing about marble, but some searching suggests that the old master did indeed use marble from this region.

    I cut a Steam Machine faceplate from the same marble Michelangelo used
     from r/steammachine

    As for this stuff specifically? Yeah, I'll take a hard pinch of salt with that one. It all looks the same to me—but I am, of course, a classless heathen of the lowest regard. Anyway, GinoWT says they usually cut marble for superyacht materials, so they've got the workshop setup to make square plates of the stuff .

    It seems to be more involved than you might think, though, as each needs to be individually finished by hand. "Nobody is scaling this," says GinoWT. I'll take your word for it.

    The stone itself is five to six millimetres thick, and bonded onto a 3D-printed structure with magnets to hold it to the front of the Steam Machine. This is apparently the same principle used on superyachts, to keep the weight "sensible" and to prevent the stone from cracking. We really are learning things today, aren't we?

    It's not just marble that GinoWT specialises in, either. They've also made a "Sahara Noir" version in black with a gold vein going across it, and another out of Roman travertine. Yes, I had to look that one up as well.

    If you're of a classier (and presumably wealthier) disposition than I, GinoWT has a website where you can sign up for one of the first small batches. No mention is made of actual prices beyond the "wait and see" form, so I'm willing to bet they'll be fairly expensive. Still, at what price Michelangelo's supposed leftovers, ey?

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/a-redditor-is-making-super-fancy-marble-steam-machine-faceplates-allegedly-sourced-from-the-same-quarry-as-michelangelo/ dt87x6N8qWWtkB7oSqaVQj Thu, 13 Aug 2026 16:13:31 +0000 false false false

    While I have my issues with the Steam Machine (mostly surrounding its price tag), I really do love the way it looks. It's a classy device, particularly as you can swap out the magnetic faceplates to your taste. I've seen some fairly tasteful designs so far, but none more OTT than this marble version from redditor GinoWT.

    The marble used is supposedly from the Carrara quarry basin, which is the one Michelangelo worked from. I know absolutely nothing about marble, but some searching suggests that the old master did indeed use marble from this region.

    I cut a Steam Machine faceplate from the same marble Michelangelo used
     from r/steammachine

    As for this stuff specifically? Yeah, I'll take a hard pinch of salt with that one. It all looks the same to me—but I am, of course, a classless heathen of the lowest regard. Anyway, GinoWT says they usually cut marble for superyacht materials, so they've got the workshop setup to make square plates of the stuff .

    It seems to be more involved than you might think, though, as each needs to be individually finished by hand. "Nobody is scaling this," says GinoWT. I'll take your word for it.

    The stone itself is five to six millimetres thick, and bonded onto a 3D-printed structure with magnets to hold it to the front of the Steam Machine. This is apparently the same principle used on superyachts, to keep the weight "sensible" and to prevent the stone from cracking. We really are learning things today, aren't we?

    It's not just marble that GinoWT specialises in, either. They've also made a "Sahara Noir" version in black with a gold vein going across it, and another out of Roman travertine. Yes, I had to look that one up as well.

    If you're of a classier (and presumably wealthier) disposition than I, GinoWT has a website where you can sign up for one of the first small batches. No mention is made of actual prices beyond the "wait and see" form, so I'm willing to bet they'll be fairly expensive. Still, at what price Michelangelo's supposed leftovers, ey?

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the Steam Boy, a Steam Deck crammed inside a Game Boy-like chassis ]]> I love my Steam Deck. Although the internals are starting to look a bit long in the tooth these days, it still feels like the archetype of what a handheld gaming PC should be. It's a bit large and in charge though, which is why my ears pricked up when I heard of the Steam Boy.

    This custom Steam Deck re-imagining is the work of Reddit user PhyFawkes, and the thinking behind it amounts to this: "The Steam Deck motherboard seems pretty small. I wonder if you could make a Steam Deck the size of a Game Boy?"

    The SteamBoy (WIP)
     from r/SteamDeckModded

    Turns out, for the most part, you can (via Tom's Hardware). The chassis amounts to a 3D-printed PETG shell, which manages to squeeze in not just the Steam Deck's relatively miniature mobo (complete with APU heatsink and fans), but also its rather sizable battery.

    PhyFawkes has also tucked the Deck's internal speakers within the frame, alongside the separate audio board and some creative placement of ribbon cables. All this hardware hasn't left a whole lot of room for controls, though, which have been reduced to a D-pad, four traditional face buttons (alongside two system buttons), one thumbstick, and one touchpad.

    That's some pretty tidy work, though—especially when you see the Steam Boy next to an original Steam Deck. In terms of footprint, it's well under half the size. The hardware is stacked, Tetris-style, within the frame, so it's a fair bit chonkier.

    SteamBoy Teardown and Assembly
     from r/SteamDeckModded

    Still, you could reasonably fit one in a large jacket pocket, which is more than you can say for the original Deck.

    There is one slight drawback, though. PhyFawkes hasn't yet been able to hook up the screen, which is a suitably sized 1200 x 1080 90 Hz OLED panel in traditional Game Boy config. It's going to require an adapter board between the motherboard output and the display, plus a BIOS mod as well by the looks of things, so that's the next task to be ticked off.

    PhyFawkes also says that triggers are on the checklist. At least one of them, anyway, which is apparently in a good spot on the board in terms of being mounted somewhere usable on the outside.

    So watch this space, as the Steam Boy is definitely a project to keep an eye on. Alongside all the Steam Machine mods we've been covering recently, like this water cooling project, or this RX 9070 XT eGPU setup. There's something about Valve's hardware that makes y'all want to tear it apart, huh?

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/is-it-a-bird-is-it-a-plane-no-its-the-steam-boy-a-steam-deck-crammed-inside-a-game-boy-like-chassis/ YeZKsqHnB3UBMsQeBqjENj Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:57:23 +0000 false false false

    I love my Steam Deck. Although the internals are starting to look a bit long in the tooth these days, it still feels like the archetype of what a handheld gaming PC should be. It's a bit large and in charge though, which is why my ears pricked up when I heard of the Steam Boy.

    This custom Steam Deck re-imagining is the work of Reddit user PhyFawkes, and the thinking behind it amounts to this: "The Steam Deck motherboard seems pretty small. I wonder if you could make a Steam Deck the size of a Game Boy?"

    The SteamBoy (WIP)
     from r/SteamDeckModded

    Turns out, for the most part, you can (via Tom's Hardware). The chassis amounts to a 3D-printed PETG shell, which manages to squeeze in not just the Steam Deck's relatively miniature mobo (complete with APU heatsink and fans), but also its rather sizable battery.

    PhyFawkes has also tucked the Deck's internal speakers within the frame, alongside the separate audio board and some creative placement of ribbon cables. All this hardware hasn't left a whole lot of room for controls, though, which have been reduced to a D-pad, four traditional face buttons (alongside two system buttons), one thumbstick, and one touchpad.

    That's some pretty tidy work, though—especially when you see the Steam Boy next to an original Steam Deck. In terms of footprint, it's well under half the size. The hardware is stacked, Tetris-style, within the frame, so it's a fair bit chonkier.

    SteamBoy Teardown and Assembly
     from r/SteamDeckModded

    Still, you could reasonably fit one in a large jacket pocket, which is more than you can say for the original Deck.

    There is one slight drawback, though. PhyFawkes hasn't yet been able to hook up the screen, which is a suitably sized 1200 x 1080 90 Hz OLED panel in traditional Game Boy config. It's going to require an adapter board between the motherboard output and the display, plus a BIOS mod as well by the looks of things, so that's the next task to be ticked off.

    PhyFawkes also says that triggers are on the checklist. At least one of them, anyway, which is apparently in a good spot on the board in terms of being mounted somewhere usable on the outside.

    So watch this space, as the Steam Boy is definitely a project to keep an eye on. Alongside all the Steam Machine mods we've been covering recently, like this water cooling project, or this RX 9070 XT eGPU setup. There's something about Valve's hardware that makes y'all want to tear it apart, huh?

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Someone hooked an RX 9070 XT up to their Steam Machine and it works surprisingly well, like fitting a V8 engine into your Honda Civic ]]> The RX 9070 XT is one of our favourite graphics cards of this generation, as it delivers a hefty whack of gaming performance that can sometimes edge it ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti. As for the Steam Machine... well, I reviewed it and I'd like it a lot more if it was cheaper, put it that way. Or if it was more powerful.

    One redditor may have solved the Steam Machine's performance drawbacks by putting the two bits of AMD-powered hardware together. Large_Customer_3840 has hooked the big AMD graphics card in to a Steam Machine as an eGPU, via some clever use of adapters.

    "I did this by using the NVMe slot with an NVMe to Oculink adapter" say the redditor, "and then had the NVMe drive on a USB-C NVMe adapter to boot SteamOS."

    Apparently, this setup works surprisingly well. "When I turned it on, the 9070 XT became the primary monitor and worked straight away," says our intrepid tinkerer. It's always a good feeling, isn't it?

    The only issue to date has been a black screen problem, which revealed the Steam Machine needed to be connected to a TV for the eGPU to work. Other than that? It looks to be plain sailing.

    A Steam Machine riding on top of a gaming PC

    (Image credit: Future)

    Large_Customer_3840 says they've only tested the performance with Crimson Desert so far, but reports that the Steam Machine/AMD GPU hybrid gets over 100 fps on High. The setup looks to require the removal of the Steam Machine backplate, although the redditor says it could become a permanent upgrade with some modification of the case.

    Perhaps some water cooling might be in order, just to put the cherry on the cake? It feels like we're gradually putting together the Franken-Steam Machine over here, and I can't wait to see what the modding community does next.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/someone-hooked-an-rx-9070-xt-up-to-their-steam-machine-and-it-works-surprisingly-well-like-fitting-a-v8-engine-into-your-honda-civic/ v5vB27EoAgx6s4vByrnebh Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:28:38 +0000 Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:29:04 +0000 false false false

    The RX 9070 XT is one of our favourite graphics cards of this generation, as it delivers a hefty whack of gaming performance that can sometimes edge it ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti. As for the Steam Machine... well, I reviewed it and I'd like it a lot more if it was cheaper, put it that way. Or if it was more powerful.

    One redditor may have solved the Steam Machine's performance drawbacks by putting the two bits of AMD-powered hardware together. Large_Customer_3840 has hooked the big AMD graphics card in to a Steam Machine as an eGPU, via some clever use of adapters.

    "I did this by using the NVMe slot with an NVMe to Oculink adapter" say the redditor, "and then had the NVMe drive on a USB-C NVMe adapter to boot SteamOS."

    Apparently, this setup works surprisingly well. "When I turned it on, the 9070 XT became the primary monitor and worked straight away," says our intrepid tinkerer. It's always a good feeling, isn't it?

    The only issue to date has been a black screen problem, which revealed the Steam Machine needed to be connected to a TV for the eGPU to work. Other than that? It looks to be plain sailing.

    A Steam Machine riding on top of a gaming PC

    (Image credit: Future)

    Large_Customer_3840 says they've only tested the performance with Crimson Desert so far, but reports that the Steam Machine/AMD GPU hybrid gets over 100 fps on High. The setup looks to require the removal of the Steam Machine backplate, although the redditor says it could become a permanent upgrade with some modification of the case.

    Perhaps some water cooling might be in order, just to put the cherry on the cake? It feels like we're gradually putting together the Franken-Steam Machine over here, and I can't wait to see what the modding community does next.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ The Steam Machine design makes for a frightfully good tissue box, and now you can 3D print your own ]]> Achoo! Sorry, my hayfever's been playing up again. Let me just grab a tissue from my Steam Machine... is something you could be saying if you're willing to 3D print the replica this generous individual over on Reddit designed and shared.

    The Steam Machine Style Tissue Box Cover (or 'Enclosure') is, practically speaking, just a tissue box. But I'll be damned if I'm not tempted to buy a 3D printer just to make one. It looks very much like a real Steam Machine, sans all the actual gubbins that makes it, well, the real thing.

    You can download the 3D files from MakerWorld and have one of your own. The creator Boyso expands: "Default print profiles are meant to be used with a 0.4 mm nozzle and a smooth build plate. Additional print profiles are provided where it prints on its side for textured build plates."

    Boyso also explains: "To keep things authentic, I've included two print profiles: 512 GB [or] 2 TB. Just like the real thing... except they're exactly the same. Pick whichever capacity makes you feel faster."

    Personally, I'd be going for the 2 TB one—you just never know. Placebo effects are real, after all.

    I turned a Steam Machine into a tissue box.
     from r/steammachine

    One thing to note, however, is that it might be worth holding off from using the 'textured plate print profiles' given ones reviewer's poor experience with this. The creator has since replied and said they're going to redesign things to avoid the issues they ran into with these specific profiles. So, it seems no matte surfaces on the design until those get fixed.

    Provided you're using a working profile and have access to a 3D printer, this project could be a good way to get a faux glimpse of a Steam Machine in your home—lord knows a real one is expensive enough to make it a difficult proposition.

    If you have a Steam Controller, you might even be able to fit a custom faceplate charger onto the tissue box. But I'm getting ahead of myself again—just tissues, for now. Isn't that enough?

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/the-steam-machine-design-makes-for-a-frightfully-good-tissue-box-and-now-you-can-3d-print-your-own/ uWc8VeeGPVWh8zbaD2YpWL Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:16:15 +0000 false false false

    Achoo! Sorry, my hayfever's been playing up again. Let me just grab a tissue from my Steam Machine... is something you could be saying if you're willing to 3D print the replica this generous individual over on Reddit designed and shared.

    The Steam Machine Style Tissue Box Cover (or 'Enclosure') is, practically speaking, just a tissue box. But I'll be damned if I'm not tempted to buy a 3D printer just to make one. It looks very much like a real Steam Machine, sans all the actual gubbins that makes it, well, the real thing.

    You can download the 3D files from MakerWorld and have one of your own. The creator Boyso expands: "Default print profiles are meant to be used with a 0.4 mm nozzle and a smooth build plate. Additional print profiles are provided where it prints on its side for textured build plates."

    Boyso also explains: "To keep things authentic, I've included two print profiles: 512 GB [or] 2 TB. Just like the real thing... except they're exactly the same. Pick whichever capacity makes you feel faster."

    Personally, I'd be going for the 2 TB one—you just never know. Placebo effects are real, after all.

    I turned a Steam Machine into a tissue box.
     from r/steammachine

    One thing to note, however, is that it might be worth holding off from using the 'textured plate print profiles' given ones reviewer's poor experience with this. The creator has since replied and said they're going to redesign things to avoid the issues they ran into with these specific profiles. So, it seems no matte surfaces on the design until those get fixed.

    Provided you're using a working profile and have access to a 3D printer, this project could be a good way to get a faux glimpse of a Steam Machine in your home—lord knows a real one is expensive enough to make it a difficult proposition.

    If you have a Steam Controller, you might even be able to fit a custom faceplate charger onto the tissue box. But I'm getting ahead of myself again—just tissues, for now. Isn't that enough?

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ The 'world's first' water-cooled Steam Machine is a Frankenstein's monster of neon pink tubing and external hardware ]]> Although I criticised the Steam Machine for its hefty price tag upon release, part of me hoped the creator community might do something interesting with it. Lo and behold, we now have the first example of a water-cooled version—and I can't help but be impressed.

    The Not-so-steamy Machine (as I shall call it) is the work of Stefan Warecka, who claim's it's the "world's first" example. They've posted a short video on Reddit summarising some of the build process, which begins with... attacking the Steam Machine's carboard box with an angle grinder. Good lord.

    Watercooled Steam Machine Build Video
     from r/PcBuild

    Despite the "hack first and ask questions later" approach, the end product is a rather beautiful Steam Machine with a fan-cooled radiator strapped to the back, a custom CNC-ed water block, and lots of external tubing—which is then duly filled with a neon-pink liquid solution. It looks like a mini PC that's spent a long night on the Pepto-Bismol. We've all been there, folks.

    Warecka says that APU temps have dropped by 20-30 degrees, and a full video is coming soon to their YouTube channel. In the meantime, we can only guess at the potential performance benefits. Cyberpunk 2077 is shown running in the background, so hopefully some benchmarks are on their way.

    I'm also struggling to wrap my head around the concept. The standard Steam Machine runs cool and quiet with a clever air cooling design, while the neat form factor means you can tuck it easily under your TV. This one? Not so much.

    Worlds first Watercooled Steam Machine
     from r/PcBuild

    Still, I suppose it doesn't matter. This project seems to be focused on the fun of hacking one up for giggles, and that's a principle I can stand behind. Techmagnet says the next step is to open it up again and work on the VRM cooling, "which is quite challenging as the MOSFETs are super tiny… and also they run quite on the limits of thermal design which sucks."

    Godspeed, you goggle-clad maestro of mayhem. Just put the angle grinder away, would you? I know a few mechanics with missing fingers that might advise you against that sort of thing. Just a thought.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/the-worlds-first-water-cooled-steam-machine-is-a-frankensteins-monster-of-neon-pink-tubing-and-external-hardware/ 2zf5n8CSYDtWX3kTaJAa7N Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:07:58 +0000 Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:08:21 +0000 false false false

    Although I criticised the Steam Machine for its hefty price tag upon release, part of me hoped the creator community might do something interesting with it. Lo and behold, we now have the first example of a water-cooled version—and I can't help but be impressed.

    The Not-so-steamy Machine (as I shall call it) is the work of Stefan Warecka, who claim's it's the "world's first" example. They've posted a short video on Reddit summarising some of the build process, which begins with... attacking the Steam Machine's carboard box with an angle grinder. Good lord.

    Watercooled Steam Machine Build Video
     from r/PcBuild

    Despite the "hack first and ask questions later" approach, the end product is a rather beautiful Steam Machine with a fan-cooled radiator strapped to the back, a custom CNC-ed water block, and lots of external tubing—which is then duly filled with a neon-pink liquid solution. It looks like a mini PC that's spent a long night on the Pepto-Bismol. We've all been there, folks.

    Warecka says that APU temps have dropped by 20-30 degrees, and a full video is coming soon to their YouTube channel. In the meantime, we can only guess at the potential performance benefits. Cyberpunk 2077 is shown running in the background, so hopefully some benchmarks are on their way.

    I'm also struggling to wrap my head around the concept. The standard Steam Machine runs cool and quiet with a clever air cooling design, while the neat form factor means you can tuck it easily under your TV. This one? Not so much.

    Worlds first Watercooled Steam Machine
     from r/PcBuild

    Still, I suppose it doesn't matter. This project seems to be focused on the fun of hacking one up for giggles, and that's a principle I can stand behind. Techmagnet says the next step is to open it up again and work on the VRM cooling, "which is quite challenging as the MOSFETs are super tiny… and also they run quite on the limits of thermal design which sucks."

    Godspeed, you goggle-clad maestro of mayhem. Just put the angle grinder away, would you? I know a few mechanics with missing fingers that might advise you against that sort of thing. Just a thought.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Valve has added 'initial' SteamOS gamepad support for several new gaming handhelds, including the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ ]]> Valve is still beavering away at the internals of SteamOS, and the latest update notes for the 3.8.25 Beta release mention the addition of "initial gamepad support" for several non-Valve gaming handhelds. The mighty MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is on the list, as are two offerings from Ayaneo.

    These are the Ayaneo Pocket S2, an Android-first, Snapdragon-powered device that launched in June of last year, and the Konkr Fit, a recently-launched Windows handheld released under one of Ayaeno's sub-brands.

    The Fit comes in two AMD APU flavours, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. It's also got TMR joysticks and Hall effect triggers, which should hopefully benefit from the latest update.

    Tucked away at the bottom of the "Non-Valve Devices" section is a note on updated gamepad support for the OneXPlayer Apex. You know, the one with an optional plug-in liquid cooling tower released back in the pre-memory crisis times, when ultra-high-end handhelds made a small modicum of sense.

    Anyway, it seems Valve is working hard on SteamOS compatibility with the latest handheld releases—even if they're increasingly looking like some of the biggest victims of the RAMpocalypse so far.

    MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld gaming PC

    (Image credit: Future)

    Alongside gaming laptops, gaming PCs, consoles... all the things we like, basically.

    Speaking of recently-released devices hit hard by the pricing stick, the update also includes new firmware for the Steam Machine, which is supposed to fix a couple of problems including "a rare issue where CPU performance could be degraded until reboot after waking up from sleep."

    No software update is going to solve the consumer pricing problem in hardware right now, but it's pleasing to see Valve trucking on anyway. If you're planning on dropping some serious cash on a new handheld gaming PC sometime soon, it seems SteamOS is rapidly becoming ready for you. Even if your bank balance might not be, naturally.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/valve-has-added-initial-steamos-gamepad-support-for-several-new-gaming-handhelds-including-the-msi-claw-8-ex-ai/ haiAsus725eVUhVzvPEuPS Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:05:21 +0000 Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:05:44 +0000 false false false

    Valve is still beavering away at the internals of SteamOS, and the latest update notes for the 3.8.25 Beta release mention the addition of "initial gamepad support" for several non-Valve gaming handhelds. The mighty MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is on the list, as are two offerings from Ayaneo.

    These are the Ayaneo Pocket S2, an Android-first, Snapdragon-powered device that launched in June of last year, and the Konkr Fit, a recently-launched Windows handheld released under one of Ayaeno's sub-brands.

    The Fit comes in two AMD APU flavours, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. It's also got TMR joysticks and Hall effect triggers, which should hopefully benefit from the latest update.

    Tucked away at the bottom of the "Non-Valve Devices" section is a note on updated gamepad support for the OneXPlayer Apex. You know, the one with an optional plug-in liquid cooling tower released back in the pre-memory crisis times, when ultra-high-end handhelds made a small modicum of sense.

    Anyway, it seems Valve is working hard on SteamOS compatibility with the latest handheld releases—even if they're increasingly looking like some of the biggest victims of the RAMpocalypse so far.

    MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld gaming PC

    (Image credit: Future)

    Alongside gaming laptops, gaming PCs, consoles... all the things we like, basically.

    Speaking of recently-released devices hit hard by the pricing stick, the update also includes new firmware for the Steam Machine, which is supposed to fix a couple of problems including "a rare issue where CPU performance could be degraded until reboot after waking up from sleep."

    No software update is going to solve the consumer pricing problem in hardware right now, but it's pleasing to see Valve trucking on anyway. If you're planning on dropping some serious cash on a new handheld gaming PC sometime soon, it seems SteamOS is rapidly becoming ready for you. Even if your bank balance might not be, naturally.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) gaming laptop review ]]>

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 is a fantastic 16-inch gaming laptop. There you go, review over, we can all go home. But wait, because it's got a serious flaw that should make you hold your fire before pressing the order button. And that flaw, as those familiar with the ongoing memory crisis may have already guessed, is the price.

    Asus has sent me a 64 GB LPDDR5, RTX 5080-equipped machine for testing, and the same-specced model is currently listed for an astonishing $4,800. Cheaper models with more reasonable amounts of RAM are available—but even the 32 GB, 1 TB version is currently listed at Best Buy for $4,400.

    I'm sorry, but that's simply too much to pay for an RTX 5080 gaming laptop. Even one as lovely as this. Particularly as the phenomenal Razer Blade 16 (2026) in RTX 5080 trim is $400 cheaper, with the same Intel Panther Lake-based chip.

    If you can find the new G16 for the same money as the Razer Blade 16 during the sales, the choice becomes a lot more difficult. The Asus machine is a worthy competitor, what with its excellent chassis design, stunning 240 Hz OLED display, and superb portability. It's a gaming laptop I've enjoyed testing, particularly as it's capable of knocking the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ for six in certain gaming benchmarks.

    Better still, it's got excellent battery life. This is a machine I would happily take on the road with me, gaming in bliss as I go. But when it's this expensive, I can't give it the wholehearted recommendation my heart desires.

    Money matters, and when the G16 is listed for such teeth-chattering prices, I have to dock some precious points off the score.

    The memory crisis has affected gaming laptops particularly badly in recent months—and by the looks of things, it's not going to get better any time soon. My hope for the G16 is that the sales periods will bring it down to more reasonable figures, in which case you'll find me shouting its virtues from the nearest rooftop. But as things currently stand? It's simply too pricey to gain a top spot.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You've got the cash to splash: If money is no object, then the new Asus G16 is a fantastic gaming laptop well worth considering. The Razer Blade 16, however, is the better of the two.

    ✅ You want something truly portable: As 16-inch gaming laptops go, they don't come much more backpack-friendly than this.

    Don't buy if...

    ❌ You're on a budget: I hate to keep hammering the same point home, but the price is truly eye-watering.

    ❌ You want ultimate frame rates: Concessions need to be made in a slim and light gaming laptop—and while the G16 is a great performer in its class, bulkier models will likely outpace it in the gaming benchmarks.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) features

    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop next to a benchmarking rig

    (Image credit: Future)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 tested specs

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026)

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 9 386H

    Intel Core Ultra 9 285H

    GPU

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (160 W Max TGP)

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (120 W Max TGP)

    Memory

    64 GB LPDDR5X-8533

    32 GB LPDDR5X-7467

    Storage

    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

    2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

    Expansion slots

    2x M.2 NVMe (one used)

    2x M.2 NVMe (one used)

    Display

    16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED, 240 Hz

    16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED, 240 Hz

    Dimensions

    35.4 x 24.6 x 1.49 ~ 1.79 cm | 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59 ~ 0.70-inches

    35.4 x 24.6 x 1.49 ~ 1.79 cm | 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59 ~ 0.70-inches

    Battery

    90 Whr

    90 Whr

    Weight

    1.95 kg (4.3 lbs)

    1.95 kg (4.3 lbs)

    Price

    $4,800

    $3,600 (64 GB model) / £3,400

    The new Zephyrus G16 looks much the same as the old model, but under the hood it's had some significant tweaks. The largest of which is the addition of a Panther Lake-based Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, the same as you'll find in the new Razer Blade 16.

    It's a 16-core chip, breaking down into four Performance cores, eight Efficient, and four Low Power Efficient beasties. As with the new Blade, that core loadout might seem a little underpowered at first, but the Core Ultra 9 386H makes a compelling case for itself as a powerful gaming CPU tucked inside a slim laptop frame.

    My particular review sample comes with a ludicrous 64 GB of LPDDR5X-8533, paired with a… 1 TB SSD. I'm not sure who'd spec out a G16 this way, as I'd much rather have half the RAM and double the storage space, which is more traditional for a high-powered gaming lappy. Still, that's what Asus sent me, so that's what I'll be testing.

    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 shot from various angles on a test bench
    Future
    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 shot from various angles on a test bench
    Future
    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 shot from various angles on a test bench
    Future
    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 shot from various angles on a test bench
    Future

    The 2026 G16 comes in many flavours, with up to an RTX 5090 crammed within its aluminium chassis. This one's got an RTX 5080 mobile, with a raised TGP of 135 W compared to the older model's 120 W limit. It can be pushed all the way up to 160 W in Manual mode within the Asus Armory Crate software—but I've mostly tested it at 135 W in Turbo mode, as your average user isn't likely to dive too far into the manual settings.

    That being said, on paper, it's an impressive max power limit for such a slim and sleek machine.

    It's still one of the best-looking (and feeling) super-portable 16-inch gaming laptops you can buy

    Asus has made a few tweaks to the keyboard, too. The deck has been reinforced to prevent flex, and the keycaps now have an anti-fingerprint coating, which feels rather grippy underneath my fingertips.

    The hinge also uses two torsion springs to make it easier to lift, which is a nice touch. It's full of little bits of refinement, sprinkled on top of what was already an excellent design.

    A close up of the keyboard of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026

    (Image credit: Future)

    The 240 Hz OLED panel has also received some attention, as it now features a peak brightness rating of 1100 nits and VESA TrueBlack 1000 HDR certification. It's a sumptuous 1600p display, and a rival to the Blade 16's similarly-specced screen.

    Overall, the G16 looks and feels near-identical to the old model when you pass it around in your hands. It's still got a large slash of tasteful LED lights on the lid, it's still one of the best-looking (and feeling) super-portable 16-inch gaming laptops you can buy, and this new version has received some tasty hardware upgrades. A strong start, I would say.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 performance

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) sitting on a test bench

    (Image credit: Future)

    At 1080p, the new G16 puts on a good showing against the other RTX 5080-equipped, slim-as-you-like gaming machines in my charts—although the much chonkier Legion Pro 7i looms menacingly at the bottom.

    Still, the fresh-faced Asus lappy is often significantly faster than the old model. This becomes obvious in our CPU-heavy Baldur's Gate 3 test, where the new Panther Lake chip beats the older Core Ultra 9 285 H quite handily.

    1080p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    52
    39
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    50
    44
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    55
    32
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    66
    44
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    68
    38
    020406080
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H50 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H55 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H66 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    The 2026 version of the G16 handily beats its predecessor in every benchmark at 1080p, and often beats the similarly-specced MSI Stealth 16 AI+ to boot. The much-chonkier Lenovo, however, wins the day overall.

    It also scorches ahead in Black Myth Wukong, beating the new, similarly-specced MSI Stealth 16 AI+ by a massive 29 frames. In fact, it's only eight frames behind the new RTX 5090-equipped Razer Blade 16. Admittedly, the G16 still gets mopped up by the Razer in many of my other benches, but still. Small wins for the 135 W RTX 5080 mobile, and all that.

    1600p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    31
    24
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    28
    21
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    34
    22
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    39
    30
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    40
    28
    010203040
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H31 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H28 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H34 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H39 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX40 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

    At 1600p, the 2025 G16 catches back up to its younger sibling in several of my tests. We're now out of CPU limited territory and into a zone where the GPUs can more freely compete, and as a result the mere 15 W difference between the two Asus machines means they track fairly closely. Apart from BG3, of course, which still takes all the CPU grunt you can throw at it.

    The MSI Stealth, however, finds a sudden burst of speed in the Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition benchmark, jumping ahead of both G16s by a full six frames in the averages. It's still way off the pace in Black Myth, though, albeit slightly ahead in Cyberpunk 2077.

    Small wins for the 135 W RTX 5080 mobile, and all that

    And yes, it's time to talk about those two beasts lurking at the bottom. Our Razer Blade 16 sample might be an RTX 5090-equipped monster, but it's worth mentioning that it's available for the same cash as this particular spec at the time of writing. It's got the G16 firmly licked in three of my benchmarks, although pulls roughly level in the averages in BG3 and Black Myth.

    And then there's the rocketship that is the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10. It's not a slim model, and it's got pretty awful battery life, as we'll see in the charts later. But I've thrown it in as an example of what a much less portable, full-fat gaming laptop can do when pushed to the limit. Dare I point out it's significantly cheaper, too? Food for thought.

    Real-world gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen. where applicable

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    95
    79
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    85
    48
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    97
    53
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    112
    75
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    124
    83
    037.575112.5150
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + Quality upscaling, 2x FG) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H95 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H85 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H97 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H112 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX124 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
    Interestingly, with upscaling enabled, the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ inches ahead of the new G16 by a few frames on average. It's still miles off the pace of the Razer and Lenovo machines, though.

    Turn on the upscaling (and frame gen, in certain benches) and something rather interesting happens. The MSI Stealth 16 AI+, a lappy that's performed rather inconsistently across our gaming tests up until now, suddenly comes out on top versus the other lightweight RTX 5080 machines—at least when it comes to average frame rate.

    It's not by a whole lot when compared to the new G16, and the MSI's 1% lows are often all over the place, but still. Not too shabby. And yes, the Blade 16 and the Lenovo rule the charts once more.

    It's a lot of cash for these sorts of frame rates, even if the portability factor is off the charts

    The Razer lappy stomps ahead by 15 frames on average in Cyberpunk, but the Lenovo goes another 12 frames further than that. It's a shame it's harder to shove one in your shoulder bag, isn't it?

    Overall, it's a fairly impressive set of gaming results for the new G16. However, the price of this particular model keeps ringing in my ears. Yes, it's got 64 GB of RAM, and yes, the 32 GB version is $400 cheaper. But squaring these prices relative to the performance? It's a lot of cash for these sorts of frame rates, even if the portability factor is off the charts.

    CPU performance

    CPU performance figures taken from the Cinebench R24 single-core and multi-core benchmarks

    Cinebench 2024

    Multi-core index score
    Single-core index score
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1215
    124
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    1171
    125
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1221
    124
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1200
    124
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    2039
    138
    07501,5002,2503,000
    Cinebench 2024 Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1215 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H1171 Multi-core index score, 125 Single-core index score
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1221 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1200 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX2039 Multi-core index score, 138 Single-core index score
    The 2026 Asus G16, MSI Stealth 16 AI+, and the Razer Blade 16 all have the same CPU, and it's pleasing to see how closely they track with each other. The mighty 24-core chip in the Lenovo, however, flexes its muscles once more.

    Hey, look at all those near-as-makes-no-difference Cinebench figures. All the Core Ultra 386H chips perform almost identically here, although the elder Core Ultra 9 285H in last year's G16 creeps ahead by a single point in the single-core scores, and drops slightly behind in the multi-core index figures.

    Cinebench R24 can be a little twitchy, so I reckon if I ran all our Panther Lake machines through these benchmarks hundreds of times, you'd see them trade places by small amounts. One thing I would bet on, though, is that the 24-core Arrow Lake chip found in the Legion Pro 7i would beat them all no matter what.

    Again, what we're seeing here is the difference between a chonky gaming laptop, and an ultra-portable machine. Larger chassis designs mean better airflow, and that means more thermal capacity for fire-breathing, ultra-fast components.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 thermals

    A close up of the badge on the top of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16

    (Image credit: Future)

    One of my major issues with the 2025 version of the Asus G16 is the fan noise. That might sound slightly odd, as all gaming laptops can make a racket when pushed to their limits; however, the old G16 liked to spin up its fans at a moment's notice. Then spin them down again. Then back up. Then… you get the idea.

    There was also a high-pitched, whiney note that sang out over the top of all the whooshing air, which proved rather irritating over a full working day. Thankfully, the 2026 G16 has no such issues, which makes it much more civilised to live with. It still sounds like a hairdryer in Turbo mode, but again, pretty much all gaming laptops do.

    Real-world gaming temperatures

    Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

    Gaming temperatures

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    72
    98
    69
    77
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    74
    81
    68
    72
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    92
    100
    81
    87
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    82
    98
    62
    77
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    94
    105
    74
    79
    037.575112.5150
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H72 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H74 Avg CPU (°C), 81 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 72 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H92 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 87 Max GPU (°C)
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H82 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 62 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX94 Avg CPU (°C), 105 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)
    The new G16 is great at keeping its GPU cool, although the Panther Lake CPUs in each of our Core Ultra 9 386H machines like to run hot. The big Arrow Lake chip in the Lenovo is the toastiest of them all, though.

    Not only is the G16 much quieter during day-to-day usage, but it's pretty good at keeping its GPU cool during gaming. The Core Ultra 9 386H, however, likes to run fairly hot when given the opportunity, as you can see across all our Panther Lake-chipped laptops.

    You can also start to see where the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i gets its extra performance from. Its CPU is beefier, and occasionally jumps well over the 100 degree mark—while its 175 W RTX 5080 also likes to suck down power and turn it into heat, as well as frames.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 battery life

    The Intel and Nvidia badges on top of the inner deck of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16

    (Image credit: Future)

    The new G16 manages an impressive 117 minute gaming battery life figure, sending it to the top of my chart. It's only five minutes more than the older model, but I'd still say that's a pretty good win. It's also relatively light on the battery during a regular working day, which means I haven't felt the need to lug the charger around as often as I would with other gaming laptops.

    Gaming battery life

    Results recorded in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test, with screen brightness set to 50% and Wi-Fi disabled

    PCMark 10 gaming battery life test (minutes)

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    117
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    112
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    104
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    102
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    73
    037.575112.5150
    PCMark 10 gaming battery life test (minutes) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H117
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H112
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H104
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H102
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX73
    The G16 reigns supreme in the gaming battery life stakes, and it's clear to see the portable advantage of our slim and light laptops over the much chonkier, slightly old-school Lenovo.

    That 117 minute result equates to 13 minutes more than the MSI Stealth 16 AI+, 15 minutes more than the Razer, and a massive 44 minutes longer than the Lenovo.

    Again I'm reminded of why you might want to sacrifice gaming performance for portability, beyond the convenience of shoving a slimmer machine in your bag. The Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 may be a lot quicker, but it's got a lot of disadvantages over the Asus G16, too.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 aesthetics

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and the Razer Blade 16 back to back

    (Image credit: Future)

    The aluminium G16 has always been one of my favourite laptop designs, and little has changed with the 2026 model. This version's silver-y frame (Eclipse Gray, if you ask Asus) is tastefully neutral to behold, looking more like an executive business laptop than a gaming machine.

    Which means it'll look as good in the boardroom as it does on your desk. Many modern gaming laptops overplay their hand when it comes to the gamer aesthetic, which can leave you feeling like a bit of a plum when you want to answer some emails in an airport departure lounge.

    No such worries here. The only hint that the G16 might be a gaming model comes in the form of the font on the keyboard, which still looks like it'd be better suited to a Star Citizen control panel than an all-business laptop design. I doubt anyone will really notice, though.

    A close up of the ROG Nebula OLED screen on the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16

    (Image credit: Future)

    All this being said, if I had to pick the best looking laptop of the current crop (and the one with the better keyboard, thanks to its longer, more positive switch travel) it'd be the Razer Blade 16.

    The Asus is a very pretty gaming laptop, but the Blade 16 is just plain purposeful. Moody, even. And as a tempestuous so-and-so myself, I like that. Plus, the Razer's trackpad is a little nicer to use, even if the G16's is also rather good.

    The G16's 240 Hz ROG Nebula OLED panel, though, is a genuine competitor with the Blade's similarly-specced model. It's lush, vibrant, and delivers pretty much everything you could want out of a gaming laptop display. Sitting the two side by side, it's quite difficult to tell which has the better screen of the two.

    Perhaps the Blade, if I was really pushed. Still, the G16 has nothing to be ashamed of in the display department.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 software

    (Image credit: Asus)

    The Asus Armoury Crate software package isn't the most straightforward of affairs, I have to admit. Still, the switching options between power modes are easy to find, and a click on an image depicting the laptop itself (which isn't as obvious as it sounds) leads to plenty of extra options for customising the lighting, process handling, keybinds, and more.

    The home page shows real time info for the CPU, GPU, and memory, along with readouts for the fan speeds. There's also a "Playground" menu in the sidebar that allows you to sync the lighting between various Asus products, adjust wallpapers, and all that sort of jazz.

    If I had a major critique of the software (and Armoury Crate is far from alone in this regard), it's that it feels very… bitty. All the info and customisation options you can think of are in here. Somewhere. If you look hard enough.

    A straightforward selection of menus, rather than a host of buttons, toggles, and sliders scattered all over the shop, would make the whole thing gel together a little more seamlessly.

    (Image credit: Asus)

    There's also a greyed-out "Manual" power option, which is adjusted via a separate menu. Here you can tweak the CPU and GPU clock speeds, along with the option to boost the TGP of the latter all the way up to a 160 W top limit. The Asus reviewer's guide recommends you do this with the fan speeds pegged at 100%— which, as you might expect, is very loud.

    Armoury Crate also provides you with a warning screen as you confirm the settings, absolving Asus from any responsibility if things go wrong. Which is enough to make you cross your fingers when you're testing the limits of a $4,800 gaming laptop, let me tell you.

    An overclocking warning from the Asus Armoury Crate software

    (Image credit: Asus)

    We don't normally test overclocked gaming laptops beyond the Turbo or standard Maximum presets, but I put in my earplugs and ran the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark regardless.

    At top wattage settings (and at 1600p with DLSS Quality and 2x frame gen. enabled) this resulted in a 99 fps average, with 83 fps 1% lows. Essentially, a four fps gain in terms of average frames over the 135 W Turbo mode.

    I also recorded an 84 degree peak from the GPU during the benchmark, which seems a little on the hot side to me. The marginal gains, plus the very loud fans and toastier peak GPU temps, don't endear me to the whole idea of messing with the GPU wattage in a machine this slim. It's a nice option to have, but I'd stick to the presets if I were you.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 value

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and the Razer Blade 16 side by side

    (Image credit: Future)

    And so we reach a crucial point. The concept of "value" and the term "gaming laptop" are two very difficult things to square in 2026, and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 is a prime example of why. It's a lovely machine, and one I wish I didn't have to mark down over such trifling concerns as, y'know, money.

    But the facts are simple. My review sample is $4,800, and that's far too much to pay for an RTX 5080 lappy. Even if it does come with 64 GB of RAM, for reasons that still elude me.

    Luckily, the 32 GB version is a fair bit cheaper. I've found one for $4,400 at Best Buy, although it's still got a somewhat-miserly 1 TB SSD. For this sort of cash, I'd definitely be wanting more room for my games—and I'd want it included as part of the package, rather than having to make a pricey component upgrade for myself.

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 off to the side of the Razer Blade 16

    (Image credit: Future)

    Here's another issue. The Razer Blade 16 2026, a laptop that, in my estimation, is even more desirable than the G16, is available in a RTX 5080 + 1 TB SSD config for $4,000. That's a $400 saving over the equivalent G16, and far from chump change. Plus it's got the same Intel chip, another excellent OLED panel, and a chassis, keyboard, and trackpad design that's got the G16 2026 beat. Even if it's just by a nose.

    In previous years, both the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and the smaller, 14-inch G14 have been recurring entries on our gaming laptop deals page. I know, because I'm the one that updates it. Often, RTX 5070 and RTX 5080 variants have dropped down well below the $2,000 mark, and that's made them fantastic value for what you end up receiving.

    If you can find one with a healthy discount? Go for it.

    This time around, though, I've got a feeling it might be different. The memory crisis continues to rip its way through the gaming laptop market, and I don't think we're likely to see such heavy price reductions on these new 2026 models.

    Unless they stop selling entirely, or you're prepared to wait for the Black Friday sales. It's a hard thing to judge, but I don't think I've got that small crumb of comfort to lean on—at least not in the same way I might have done previously.

    All of which is to say, I think the G16 is a fantastic high-end gaming device, with a gorgeous OLED display and plenty to recommend it for. But it's hugely over-priced as things stand, and that's a fatal flaw hanging over the head of what is otherwise a highly-recommendable gaming laptop.

    If you can find one with a healthy discount? Go for it. At full price, though? I'd urge you to check out the Razer lineup instead. Your money goes further, and the machine you'll end up with… well, it simply has the edge.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/asus-rog-zephyrus-g16-2026-review/ D9HRoAXmmbE9a5yRWs2wFL Fri, 07 Aug 2026 15:49:06 +0000 Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:49:47 +0000 false false false

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 is a fantastic 16-inch gaming laptop. There you go, review over, we can all go home. But wait, because it's got a serious flaw that should make you hold your fire before pressing the order button. And that flaw, as those familiar with the ongoing memory crisis may have already guessed, is the price.

    Asus has sent me a 64 GB LPDDR5, RTX 5080-equipped machine for testing, and the same-specced model is currently listed for an astonishing $4,800. Cheaper models with more reasonable amounts of RAM are available—but even the 32 GB, 1 TB version is currently listed at Best Buy for $4,400.

    I'm sorry, but that's simply too much to pay for an RTX 5080 gaming laptop. Even one as lovely as this. Particularly as the phenomenal Razer Blade 16 (2026) in RTX 5080 trim is $400 cheaper, with the same Intel Panther Lake-based chip.

    If you can find the new G16 for the same money as the Razer Blade 16 during the sales, the choice becomes a lot more difficult. The Asus machine is a worthy competitor, what with its excellent chassis design, stunning 240 Hz OLED display, and superb portability. It's a gaming laptop I've enjoyed testing, particularly as it's capable of knocking the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ for six in certain gaming benchmarks.

    Better still, it's got excellent battery life. This is a machine I would happily take on the road with me, gaming in bliss as I go. But when it's this expensive, I can't give it the wholehearted recommendation my heart desires.

    Money matters, and when the G16 is listed for such teeth-chattering prices, I have to dock some precious points off the score.

    The memory crisis has affected gaming laptops particularly badly in recent months—and by the looks of things, it's not going to get better any time soon. My hope for the G16 is that the sales periods will bring it down to more reasonable figures, in which case you'll find me shouting its virtues from the nearest rooftop. But as things currently stand? It's simply too pricey to gain a top spot.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You've got the cash to splash: If money is no object, then the new Asus G16 is a fantastic gaming laptop well worth considering. The Razer Blade 16, however, is the better of the two.

    ✅ You want something truly portable: As 16-inch gaming laptops go, they don't come much more backpack-friendly than this.

    Don't buy if...

    ❌ You're on a budget: I hate to keep hammering the same point home, but the price is truly eye-watering.

    ❌ You want ultimate frame rates: Concessions need to be made in a slim and light gaming laptop—and while the G16 is a great performer in its class, bulkier models will likely outpace it in the gaming benchmarks.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) features

    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop next to a benchmarking rig

    (Image credit: Future)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 tested specs

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026)

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025)

    CPU

    Intel Core Ultra 9 386H

    Intel Core Ultra 9 285H

    GPU

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (160 W Max TGP)

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 (120 W Max TGP)

    Memory

    64 GB LPDDR5X-8533

    32 GB LPDDR5X-7467

    Storage

    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

    2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

    Expansion slots

    2x M.2 NVMe (one used)

    2x M.2 NVMe (one used)

    Display

    16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED, 240 Hz

    16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED, 240 Hz

    Dimensions

    35.4 x 24.6 x 1.49 ~ 1.79 cm | 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59 ~ 0.70-inches

    35.4 x 24.6 x 1.49 ~ 1.79 cm | 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59 ~ 0.70-inches

    Battery

    90 Whr

    90 Whr

    Weight

    1.95 kg (4.3 lbs)

    1.95 kg (4.3 lbs)

    Price

    $4,800

    $3,600 (64 GB model) / £3,400

    The new Zephyrus G16 looks much the same as the old model, but under the hood it's had some significant tweaks. The largest of which is the addition of a Panther Lake-based Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, the same as you'll find in the new Razer Blade 16.

    It's a 16-core chip, breaking down into four Performance cores, eight Efficient, and four Low Power Efficient beasties. As with the new Blade, that core loadout might seem a little underpowered at first, but the Core Ultra 9 386H makes a compelling case for itself as a powerful gaming CPU tucked inside a slim laptop frame.

    My particular review sample comes with a ludicrous 64 GB of LPDDR5X-8533, paired with a… 1 TB SSD. I'm not sure who'd spec out a G16 this way, as I'd much rather have half the RAM and double the storage space, which is more traditional for a high-powered gaming lappy. Still, that's what Asus sent me, so that's what I'll be testing.

    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 shot from various angles on a test bench
    Future
    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 shot from various angles on a test bench
    Future
    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 shot from various angles on a test bench
    Future
    An Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 shot from various angles on a test bench
    Future

    The 2026 G16 comes in many flavours, with up to an RTX 5090 crammed within its aluminium chassis. This one's got an RTX 5080 mobile, with a raised TGP of 135 W compared to the older model's 120 W limit. It can be pushed all the way up to 160 W in Manual mode within the Asus Armory Crate software—but I've mostly tested it at 135 W in Turbo mode, as your average user isn't likely to dive too far into the manual settings.

    That being said, on paper, it's an impressive max power limit for such a slim and sleek machine.

    It's still one of the best-looking (and feeling) super-portable 16-inch gaming laptops you can buy

    Asus has made a few tweaks to the keyboard, too. The deck has been reinforced to prevent flex, and the keycaps now have an anti-fingerprint coating, which feels rather grippy underneath my fingertips.

    The hinge also uses two torsion springs to make it easier to lift, which is a nice touch. It's full of little bits of refinement, sprinkled on top of what was already an excellent design.

    A close up of the keyboard of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026

    (Image credit: Future)

    The 240 Hz OLED panel has also received some attention, as it now features a peak brightness rating of 1100 nits and VESA TrueBlack 1000 HDR certification. It's a sumptuous 1600p display, and a rival to the Blade 16's similarly-specced screen.

    Overall, the G16 looks and feels near-identical to the old model when you pass it around in your hands. It's still got a large slash of tasteful LED lights on the lid, it's still one of the best-looking (and feeling) super-portable 16-inch gaming laptops you can buy, and this new version has received some tasty hardware upgrades. A strong start, I would say.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 performance

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) sitting on a test bench

    (Image credit: Future)

    At 1080p, the new G16 puts on a good showing against the other RTX 5080-equipped, slim-as-you-like gaming machines in my charts—although the much chonkier Legion Pro 7i looms menacingly at the bottom.

    Still, the fresh-faced Asus lappy is often significantly faster than the old model. This becomes obvious in our CPU-heavy Baldur's Gate 3 test, where the new Panther Lake chip beats the older Core Ultra 9 285 H quite handily.

    1080p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    52
    39
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    50
    44
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    55
    32
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    66
    44
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    68
    38
    020406080
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H50 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H55 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H66 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    The 2026 version of the G16 handily beats its predecessor in every benchmark at 1080p, and often beats the similarly-specced MSI Stealth 16 AI+ to boot. The much-chonkier Lenovo, however, wins the day overall.

    It also scorches ahead in Black Myth Wukong, beating the new, similarly-specced MSI Stealth 16 AI+ by a massive 29 frames. In fact, it's only eight frames behind the new RTX 5090-equipped Razer Blade 16. Admittedly, the G16 still gets mopped up by the Razer in many of my other benches, but still. Small wins for the 135 W RTX 5080 mobile, and all that.

    1600p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    31
    24
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    28
    21
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    34
    22
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    39
    30
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    40
    28
    010203040
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H31 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H28 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H34 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H39 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX40 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS

    At 1600p, the 2025 G16 catches back up to its younger sibling in several of my tests. We're now out of CPU limited territory and into a zone where the GPUs can more freely compete, and as a result the mere 15 W difference between the two Asus machines means they track fairly closely. Apart from BG3, of course, which still takes all the CPU grunt you can throw at it.

    The MSI Stealth, however, finds a sudden burst of speed in the Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition benchmark, jumping ahead of both G16s by a full six frames in the averages. It's still way off the pace in Black Myth, though, albeit slightly ahead in Cyberpunk 2077.

    Small wins for the 135 W RTX 5080 mobile, and all that

    And yes, it's time to talk about those two beasts lurking at the bottom. Our Razer Blade 16 sample might be an RTX 5090-equipped monster, but it's worth mentioning that it's available for the same cash as this particular spec at the time of writing. It's got the G16 firmly licked in three of my benchmarks, although pulls roughly level in the averages in BG3 and Black Myth.

    And then there's the rocketship that is the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10. It's not a slim model, and it's got pretty awful battery life, as we'll see in the charts later. But I've thrown it in as an example of what a much less portable, full-fat gaming laptop can do when pushed to the limit. Dare I point out it's significantly cheaper, too? Food for thought.

    Real-world gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen. where applicable

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    95
    79
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    85
    48
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    97
    53
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    112
    75
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    124
    83
    037.575112.5150
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra + Quality upscaling, 2x FG) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H95 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H85 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H97 Avg FPS, 53 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H112 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX124 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
    Interestingly, with upscaling enabled, the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ inches ahead of the new G16 by a few frames on average. It's still miles off the pace of the Razer and Lenovo machines, though.

    Turn on the upscaling (and frame gen, in certain benches) and something rather interesting happens. The MSI Stealth 16 AI+, a lappy that's performed rather inconsistently across our gaming tests up until now, suddenly comes out on top versus the other lightweight RTX 5080 machines—at least when it comes to average frame rate.

    It's not by a whole lot when compared to the new G16, and the MSI's 1% lows are often all over the place, but still. Not too shabby. And yes, the Blade 16 and the Lenovo rule the charts once more.

    It's a lot of cash for these sorts of frame rates, even if the portability factor is off the charts

    The Razer lappy stomps ahead by 15 frames on average in Cyberpunk, but the Lenovo goes another 12 frames further than that. It's a shame it's harder to shove one in your shoulder bag, isn't it?

    Overall, it's a fairly impressive set of gaming results for the new G16. However, the price of this particular model keeps ringing in my ears. Yes, it's got 64 GB of RAM, and yes, the 32 GB version is $400 cheaper. But squaring these prices relative to the performance? It's a lot of cash for these sorts of frame rates, even if the portability factor is off the charts.

    CPU performance

    CPU performance figures taken from the Cinebench R24 single-core and multi-core benchmarks

    Cinebench 2024

    Multi-core index score
    Single-core index score
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1215
    124
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    1171
    125
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1221
    124
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1200
    124
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    2039
    138
    07501,5002,2503,000
    Cinebench 2024 Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1215 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H1171 Multi-core index score, 125 Single-core index score
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1221 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1200 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX2039 Multi-core index score, 138 Single-core index score
    The 2026 Asus G16, MSI Stealth 16 AI+, and the Razer Blade 16 all have the same CPU, and it's pleasing to see how closely they track with each other. The mighty 24-core chip in the Lenovo, however, flexes its muscles once more.

    Hey, look at all those near-as-makes-no-difference Cinebench figures. All the Core Ultra 386H chips perform almost identically here, although the elder Core Ultra 9 285H in last year's G16 creeps ahead by a single point in the single-core scores, and drops slightly behind in the multi-core index figures.

    Cinebench R24 can be a little twitchy, so I reckon if I ran all our Panther Lake machines through these benchmarks hundreds of times, you'd see them trade places by small amounts. One thing I would bet on, though, is that the 24-core Arrow Lake chip found in the Legion Pro 7i would beat them all no matter what.

    Again, what we're seeing here is the difference between a chonky gaming laptop, and an ultra-portable machine. Larger chassis designs mean better airflow, and that means more thermal capacity for fire-breathing, ultra-fast components.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 thermals

    A close up of the badge on the top of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16

    (Image credit: Future)

    One of my major issues with the 2025 version of the Asus G16 is the fan noise. That might sound slightly odd, as all gaming laptops can make a racket when pushed to their limits; however, the old G16 liked to spin up its fans at a moment's notice. Then spin them down again. Then back up. Then… you get the idea.

    There was also a high-pitched, whiney note that sang out over the top of all the whooshing air, which proved rather irritating over a full working day. Thankfully, the 2026 G16 has no such issues, which makes it much more civilised to live with. It still sounds like a hairdryer in Turbo mode, but again, pretty much all gaming laptops do.

    Real-world gaming temperatures

    Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

    Gaming temperatures

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    72
    98
    69
    77
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    74
    81
    68
    72
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    92
    100
    81
    87
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    82
    98
    62
    77
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    94
    105
    74
    79
    037.575112.5150
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H72 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H74 Avg CPU (°C), 81 Max CPU (°C), 68 Avg GPU (°C), 72 Max GPU (°C)
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H92 Avg CPU (°C), 100 Max CPU (°C), 81 Avg GPU (°C), 87 Max GPU (°C)
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H82 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 62 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX94 Avg CPU (°C), 105 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)
    The new G16 is great at keeping its GPU cool, although the Panther Lake CPUs in each of our Core Ultra 9 386H machines like to run hot. The big Arrow Lake chip in the Lenovo is the toastiest of them all, though.

    Not only is the G16 much quieter during day-to-day usage, but it's pretty good at keeping its GPU cool during gaming. The Core Ultra 9 386H, however, likes to run fairly hot when given the opportunity, as you can see across all our Panther Lake-chipped laptops.

    You can also start to see where the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i gets its extra performance from. Its CPU is beefier, and occasionally jumps well over the 100 degree mark—while its 175 W RTX 5080 also likes to suck down power and turn it into heat, as well as frames.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 battery life

    The Intel and Nvidia badges on top of the inner deck of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16

    (Image credit: Future)

    The new G16 manages an impressive 117 minute gaming battery life figure, sending it to the top of my chart. It's only five minutes more than the older model, but I'd still say that's a pretty good win. It's also relatively light on the battery during a regular working day, which means I haven't felt the need to lug the charger around as often as I would with other gaming laptops.

    Gaming battery life

    Results recorded in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test, with screen brightness set to 50% and Wi-Fi disabled

    PCMark 10 gaming battery life test (minutes)

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    117
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H
    112
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    104
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    102
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX
    73
    037.575112.5150
    PCMark 10 gaming battery life test (minutes) Data
    ProductValue
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H117
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) | RTX 5080 (120 W) | Core Ultra 9 285H112
    MSI Stealth 16 AI+ | RTX 5080 (125 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H104
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H102
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275HX73
    The G16 reigns supreme in the gaming battery life stakes, and it's clear to see the portable advantage of our slim and light laptops over the much chonkier, slightly old-school Lenovo.

    That 117 minute result equates to 13 minutes more than the MSI Stealth 16 AI+, 15 minutes more than the Razer, and a massive 44 minutes longer than the Lenovo.

    Again I'm reminded of why you might want to sacrifice gaming performance for portability, beyond the convenience of shoving a slimmer machine in your bag. The Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 may be a lot quicker, but it's got a lot of disadvantages over the Asus G16, too.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 aesthetics

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and the Razer Blade 16 back to back

    (Image credit: Future)

    The aluminium G16 has always been one of my favourite laptop designs, and little has changed with the 2026 model. This version's silver-y frame (Eclipse Gray, if you ask Asus) is tastefully neutral to behold, looking more like an executive business laptop than a gaming machine.

    Which means it'll look as good in the boardroom as it does on your desk. Many modern gaming laptops overplay their hand when it comes to the gamer aesthetic, which can leave you feeling like a bit of a plum when you want to answer some emails in an airport departure lounge.

    No such worries here. The only hint that the G16 might be a gaming model comes in the form of the font on the keyboard, which still looks like it'd be better suited to a Star Citizen control panel than an all-business laptop design. I doubt anyone will really notice, though.

    A close up of the ROG Nebula OLED screen on the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16

    (Image credit: Future)

    All this being said, if I had to pick the best looking laptop of the current crop (and the one with the better keyboard, thanks to its longer, more positive switch travel) it'd be the Razer Blade 16.

    The Asus is a very pretty gaming laptop, but the Blade 16 is just plain purposeful. Moody, even. And as a tempestuous so-and-so myself, I like that. Plus, the Razer's trackpad is a little nicer to use, even if the G16's is also rather good.

    The G16's 240 Hz ROG Nebula OLED panel, though, is a genuine competitor with the Blade's similarly-specced model. It's lush, vibrant, and delivers pretty much everything you could want out of a gaming laptop display. Sitting the two side by side, it's quite difficult to tell which has the better screen of the two.

    Perhaps the Blade, if I was really pushed. Still, the G16 has nothing to be ashamed of in the display department.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 software

    (Image credit: Asus)

    The Asus Armoury Crate software package isn't the most straightforward of affairs, I have to admit. Still, the switching options between power modes are easy to find, and a click on an image depicting the laptop itself (which isn't as obvious as it sounds) leads to plenty of extra options for customising the lighting, process handling, keybinds, and more.

    The home page shows real time info for the CPU, GPU, and memory, along with readouts for the fan speeds. There's also a "Playground" menu in the sidebar that allows you to sync the lighting between various Asus products, adjust wallpapers, and all that sort of jazz.

    If I had a major critique of the software (and Armoury Crate is far from alone in this regard), it's that it feels very… bitty. All the info and customisation options you can think of are in here. Somewhere. If you look hard enough.

    A straightforward selection of menus, rather than a host of buttons, toggles, and sliders scattered all over the shop, would make the whole thing gel together a little more seamlessly.

    (Image credit: Asus)

    There's also a greyed-out "Manual" power option, which is adjusted via a separate menu. Here you can tweak the CPU and GPU clock speeds, along with the option to boost the TGP of the latter all the way up to a 160 W top limit. The Asus reviewer's guide recommends you do this with the fan speeds pegged at 100%— which, as you might expect, is very loud.

    Armoury Crate also provides you with a warning screen as you confirm the settings, absolving Asus from any responsibility if things go wrong. Which is enough to make you cross your fingers when you're testing the limits of a $4,800 gaming laptop, let me tell you.

    An overclocking warning from the Asus Armoury Crate software

    (Image credit: Asus)

    We don't normally test overclocked gaming laptops beyond the Turbo or standard Maximum presets, but I put in my earplugs and ran the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark regardless.

    At top wattage settings (and at 1600p with DLSS Quality and 2x frame gen. enabled) this resulted in a 99 fps average, with 83 fps 1% lows. Essentially, a four fps gain in terms of average frames over the 135 W Turbo mode.

    I also recorded an 84 degree peak from the GPU during the benchmark, which seems a little on the hot side to me. The marginal gains, plus the very loud fans and toastier peak GPU temps, don't endear me to the whole idea of messing with the GPU wattage in a machine this slim. It's a nice option to have, but I'd stick to the presets if I were you.

    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 value

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and the Razer Blade 16 side by side

    (Image credit: Future)

    And so we reach a crucial point. The concept of "value" and the term "gaming laptop" are two very difficult things to square in 2026, and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 is a prime example of why. It's a lovely machine, and one I wish I didn't have to mark down over such trifling concerns as, y'know, money.

    But the facts are simple. My review sample is $4,800, and that's far too much to pay for an RTX 5080 lappy. Even if it does come with 64 GB of RAM, for reasons that still elude me.

    Luckily, the 32 GB version is a fair bit cheaper. I've found one for $4,400 at Best Buy, although it's still got a somewhat-miserly 1 TB SSD. For this sort of cash, I'd definitely be wanting more room for my games—and I'd want it included as part of the package, rather than having to make a pricey component upgrade for myself.

    The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 off to the side of the Razer Blade 16

    (Image credit: Future)

    Here's another issue. The Razer Blade 16 2026, a laptop that, in my estimation, is even more desirable than the G16, is available in a RTX 5080 + 1 TB SSD config for $4,000. That's a $400 saving over the equivalent G16, and far from chump change. Plus it's got the same Intel chip, another excellent OLED panel, and a chassis, keyboard, and trackpad design that's got the G16 2026 beat. Even if it's just by a nose.

    In previous years, both the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and the smaller, 14-inch G14 have been recurring entries on our gaming laptop deals page. I know, because I'm the one that updates it. Often, RTX 5070 and RTX 5080 variants have dropped down well below the $2,000 mark, and that's made them fantastic value for what you end up receiving.

    If you can find one with a healthy discount? Go for it.

    This time around, though, I've got a feeling it might be different. The memory crisis continues to rip its way through the gaming laptop market, and I don't think we're likely to see such heavy price reductions on these new 2026 models.

    Unless they stop selling entirely, or you're prepared to wait for the Black Friday sales. It's a hard thing to judge, but I don't think I've got that small crumb of comfort to lean on—at least not in the same way I might have done previously.

    All of which is to say, I think the G16 is a fantastic high-end gaming device, with a gorgeous OLED display and plenty to recommend it for. But it's hugely over-priced as things stand, and that's a fatal flaw hanging over the head of what is otherwise a highly-recommendable gaming laptop.

    If you can find one with a healthy discount? Go for it. At full price, though? I'd urge you to check out the Razer lineup instead. Your money goes further, and the machine you'll end up with… well, it simply has the edge.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ 'Slightly ugly, and insanely functional': Check out this custom Steam Machine faceplate that doubles as a charging stand ]]>
    What if a faceplate wasn't just for looks? I am working on a new kind of faceplate
     from r/steammachine

    The Steam Machine may be hard to get a hold of and prohibitively expensive, but as is ever the case with Valve, its community is very creative. It's not even been two months since its launch, yet someone has already made a faceplate that doubles up as a charging stand for the Steam Controller.

    As shared on the Steam Machine subreddit, user NefariousnessWhole25 has shared their faceplate concept. Though an earlier prototype had a shelf to hold the controller in place, they say that the magnets inside the charging puck are actually powerful enough to hold the controller up. The puck is a small, well, puck that comes with the Steam Controller that functions both as a charger and as a connector to your PC. It's pretty neat.

    The plate holds the puck in place with friction, and there's a small space to fit the end of the USB Type-C cable into. Importantly, it doesn't have the wire for the puck sticking out of the top of the plate either, giving it a pretty clean aesthetic. You can even use the faceplate by itself as a rudimentary stand, though I think it might look a tad funny given its size.

    The creator says they are still finishing the final touches and also says they're open to DMs from Valve, Jsaux or Dbrand, if any of the companies want to chat about the design.

    One commenter calls it "slightly ugly, and insanely functional", and that seems like a pretty fair description. With the controller in the stand, I personally quite like the look, but it does look a little hollow when the controller is taken off.

    Valve's new and improved Steam Controller during a visit to Valve's HQ in Bellevue, Washington.

    (Image credit: Future)

    It solves one small issue I'd personally have using the Steam Controller day-to-day: the lack of a charging stand. I think the puck is great, and I wish more controllers came with a charger/connector combo, but the puck alone means I'd leave the Steam Controller just lying on a desk, often not charging. I use the GameSir G7 Pro 8K almost every day, and I've never had to charge it, because it just doesn't look right when it's not on its included stand.

    I suspect the Steam Machine's front panel will be a source of creativity for those who actually buy the device over the coming years, because Valve has released the CAD design files for both the Steam Machine and Steam Controller, enabling modders to customise it to their heart's content. The only problem here is that it's shared under a "Creative Commons 'Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 4.0 International" which means one can't sell their work.

    Still, one doesn't always need a financial incentive to make something great, as is proved by this very mod.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-pcs/slightly-ugly-and-insanely-functional-check-out-this-custom-steam-machine-faceplate-that-doubles-as-a-charging-stand/ H9k5EGT89RJDLyrQ63vBYa Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:07:35 +0000 false false false
    What if a faceplate wasn't just for looks? I am working on a new kind of faceplate
     from r/steammachine

    The Steam Machine may be hard to get a hold of and prohibitively expensive, but as is ever the case with Valve, its community is very creative. It's not even been two months since its launch, yet someone has already made a faceplate that doubles up as a charging stand for the Steam Controller.

    As shared on the Steam Machine subreddit, user NefariousnessWhole25 has shared their faceplate concept. Though an earlier prototype had a shelf to hold the controller in place, they say that the magnets inside the charging puck are actually powerful enough to hold the controller up. The puck is a small, well, puck that comes with the Steam Controller that functions both as a charger and as a connector to your PC. It's pretty neat.

    The plate holds the puck in place with friction, and there's a small space to fit the end of the USB Type-C cable into. Importantly, it doesn't have the wire for the puck sticking out of the top of the plate either, giving it a pretty clean aesthetic. You can even use the faceplate by itself as a rudimentary stand, though I think it might look a tad funny given its size.

    The creator says they are still finishing the final touches and also says they're open to DMs from Valve, Jsaux or Dbrand, if any of the companies want to chat about the design.

    One commenter calls it "slightly ugly, and insanely functional", and that seems like a pretty fair description. With the controller in the stand, I personally quite like the look, but it does look a little hollow when the controller is taken off.

    Valve's new and improved Steam Controller during a visit to Valve's HQ in Bellevue, Washington.

    (Image credit: Future)

    It solves one small issue I'd personally have using the Steam Controller day-to-day: the lack of a charging stand. I think the puck is great, and I wish more controllers came with a charger/connector combo, but the puck alone means I'd leave the Steam Controller just lying on a desk, often not charging. I use the GameSir G7 Pro 8K almost every day, and I've never had to charge it, because it just doesn't look right when it's not on its included stand.

    I suspect the Steam Machine's front panel will be a source of creativity for those who actually buy the device over the coming years, because Valve has released the CAD design files for both the Steam Machine and Steam Controller, enabling modders to customise it to their heart's content. The only problem here is that it's shared under a "Creative Commons 'Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 4.0 International" which means one can't sell their work.

    Still, one doesn't always need a financial incentive to make something great, as is proved by this very mod.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Microsoft quietly deletes 32 GB RAM recommendation, which I'm sure has nothing to do with it bringing back 8 GB laptops ]]> Earlier this year, Microsoft posted a support document titled "How to optimize your gaming PC setup" where it said that 16 GB of memory is "plenty for most gamers" but "32 GB is ideal for serious players who run the most demanding titles or use heavy mods". That document has since been deleted.

    That's as reported by Windows Latest, who noticed the change this week. Now, clicking on the link address to the support document redirects you to the Windows Learning Center instead.

    Interestingly, Microsoft, in a separate support document, declared 32 GB to be the "no-worries" upgrade back in May, and that support document has since been deleted too. Two separate documents that recommend 32 GB of memory being taken down is certainly strange behaviour, and implies it wasn't just an accident.

    And it would make sense for Microsoft not to pitch 32 GB of memory, given that it just recently announced it would be bringing back 8 GB Surface laptops in May. Microsoft seemed to remove the 8 GB memory option in the 7th-generation Microsoft Surface and Microsoft Surface Pro 12th edition, which are the previous versions of both laptops.

    These new laptops don't even meet the memory requirements to be labelled a Copilot+ PC, and they're mighty expensive, with the Intel Core Ultra 5 standard Surface with 8 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage being an eye-watering $1,299.

    This is a shame as its initial assessment seems about right, in my estimation. 16 GB of memory is fine for most games, but 32 GB is ideal, especially for less casual gamers. I went for 32 GB of DDR5 memory in my own rig, and wouldn't want less, but I also reckon I play more than most.

    Microsoft Surface 9

    (Image credit: Microsoft)

    The memory crisis may be a problem for Microsoft, as suggested by a dip in console sales (though this 29% decline could be somewhat attributed to the life cycle of the console and tariffs raising prices), but the company's AI usage is also one of the larger contributors to the mess in the first place. The end consumer is paying for the expansion of AI in many ways, but the most pressing to a PC gamer is the fact that they're paying more and more for less storage and memory.

    As such, it would probably be a bad look for Microsoft to recommend 32 GB when its latest Surface Pro device will fetch a minimum of $2,750 to get so much memory. And Microsoft seems unlikely to backtrack on this pricing for some time. Samsung, one of the big three memory manufacturers, reckons we will see a "severe" memory supply crisis next year and "Beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility."

    AMD did a similar thing recently. After arguing gamers should look to "Game beyond 4 GB [of VRAM]" back in 2020, it has just recently launched a 4 GB graphics card, the RX 9050.

    While these big companies continue to put more and more funding into AI, we'll just have to sit with our meagre supplies of memory until it all blows over. Here's hoping 2029 is the year things get better. Or is it 2030?

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/microsoft-quietly-deletes-32-gb-ram-recommendation-which-im-sure-has-nothing-to-do-with-it-bringing-back-8-gb-laptops/ hgfVnZyjHA55wpVbpEnSaj Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:12:10 +0000 Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:29:32 +0000 false false false

    Earlier this year, Microsoft posted a support document titled "How to optimize your gaming PC setup" where it said that 16 GB of memory is "plenty for most gamers" but "32 GB is ideal for serious players who run the most demanding titles or use heavy mods". That document has since been deleted.

    That's as reported by Windows Latest, who noticed the change this week. Now, clicking on the link address to the support document redirects you to the Windows Learning Center instead.

    Interestingly, Microsoft, in a separate support document, declared 32 GB to be the "no-worries" upgrade back in May, and that support document has since been deleted too. Two separate documents that recommend 32 GB of memory being taken down is certainly strange behaviour, and implies it wasn't just an accident.

    And it would make sense for Microsoft not to pitch 32 GB of memory, given that it just recently announced it would be bringing back 8 GB Surface laptops in May. Microsoft seemed to remove the 8 GB memory option in the 7th-generation Microsoft Surface and Microsoft Surface Pro 12th edition, which are the previous versions of both laptops.

    These new laptops don't even meet the memory requirements to be labelled a Copilot+ PC, and they're mighty expensive, with the Intel Core Ultra 5 standard Surface with 8 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage being an eye-watering $1,299.

    This is a shame as its initial assessment seems about right, in my estimation. 16 GB of memory is fine for most games, but 32 GB is ideal, especially for less casual gamers. I went for 32 GB of DDR5 memory in my own rig, and wouldn't want less, but I also reckon I play more than most.

    Microsoft Surface 9

    (Image credit: Microsoft)

    The memory crisis may be a problem for Microsoft, as suggested by a dip in console sales (though this 29% decline could be somewhat attributed to the life cycle of the console and tariffs raising prices), but the company's AI usage is also one of the larger contributors to the mess in the first place. The end consumer is paying for the expansion of AI in many ways, but the most pressing to a PC gamer is the fact that they're paying more and more for less storage and memory.

    As such, it would probably be a bad look for Microsoft to recommend 32 GB when its latest Surface Pro device will fetch a minimum of $2,750 to get so much memory. And Microsoft seems unlikely to backtrack on this pricing for some time. Samsung, one of the big three memory manufacturers, reckons we will see a "severe" memory supply crisis next year and "Beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility."

    AMD did a similar thing recently. After arguing gamers should look to "Game beyond 4 GB [of VRAM]" back in 2020, it has just recently launched a 4 GB graphics card, the RX 9050.

    While these big companies continue to put more and more funding into AI, we'll just have to sit with our meagre supplies of memory until it all blows over. Here's hoping 2029 is the year things get better. Or is it 2030?

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Gamers report a BIOS update is bricking their Legion Go handhelds, and Lenovo is quoting over $250 to fix the issue outside of warranty ]]> Though it's a chunky handheld gaming PC, we highly rated the original Lenovo Legion Go (though we liked the Legion Go S SteamOS a fair bit more). Unfortunately, owners of the two-year old hardware are now reporting that a recent BIOS update is bricking their handhelds.

    The BIOS update in question is version N3CN42WW for the Legion Go 8APU1. At time of writing, this was still available from Lenovo's support servers, despite user reports of black screens and ineffective BIOS self-healing following the update.

    In a recent post to the r/LegionGo subreddit, moderators have advised users to not update and to 'just comment with +1 if you are [affected].' Beyond this, the scope of the issue (and whether every Lenovo Legion Go is affected) is still unclear.

    One Redditor claims that when they reached out to Lenovo directly, the company allegedly quoted them a little over €237 (about $273) to repair their Lenovo Legion Go (via VideoCardz). This was because the Redditor's device warranty had recently expired. Lenovo is otherwise still repairing or replacing handhelds free of charge for those whose devices still fall within warranty.

    One commenter wrote, "Had the same issue, I just [paid around €120 to reactivate] the warranty, I want them to repair it, not at my cost. This is insane."

    At least one other Redditor has taken matters into their own hands with a fairly non-standard recovery approach of direct SPI programming. PitStop Computers has also reported on its attempts to find a fix. Despite all of the aforementioned reports, Lenovo has not yet issued an advisory notice about the latest version of the BIOS.

    Long story short, if you've not recently updated your Lenovo Legion Go, sticking with an older BIOS version is probably best for now. If you have updated and are experiencing issues on a device with active warranty coverage, reaching out to Lenovo remains your best bet. Should reaching out to Lenovo not be an option for you, you may want to explore rolling your device back to BIOS version N3CN40WW.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/gamers-report-a-bios-update-is-bricking-their-legion-go-handhelds-and-lenovo-is-quoting-over-usd250-to-fix-the-issue-outside-of-warranty/ CoNWjBqGm2kpcEh2PYFTtd Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:59:14 +0000 false false false

    Though it's a chunky handheld gaming PC, we highly rated the original Lenovo Legion Go (though we liked the Legion Go S SteamOS a fair bit more). Unfortunately, owners of the two-year old hardware are now reporting that a recent BIOS update is bricking their handhelds.

    The BIOS update in question is version N3CN42WW for the Legion Go 8APU1. At time of writing, this was still available from Lenovo's support servers, despite user reports of black screens and ineffective BIOS self-healing following the update.

    In a recent post to the r/LegionGo subreddit, moderators have advised users to not update and to 'just comment with +1 if you are [affected].' Beyond this, the scope of the issue (and whether every Lenovo Legion Go is affected) is still unclear.

    One Redditor claims that when they reached out to Lenovo directly, the company allegedly quoted them a little over €237 (about $273) to repair their Lenovo Legion Go (via VideoCardz). This was because the Redditor's device warranty had recently expired. Lenovo is otherwise still repairing or replacing handhelds free of charge for those whose devices still fall within warranty.

    One commenter wrote, "Had the same issue, I just [paid around €120 to reactivate] the warranty, I want them to repair it, not at my cost. This is insane."

    At least one other Redditor has taken matters into their own hands with a fairly non-standard recovery approach of direct SPI programming. PitStop Computers has also reported on its attempts to find a fix. Despite all of the aforementioned reports, Lenovo has not yet issued an advisory notice about the latest version of the BIOS.

    Long story short, if you've not recently updated your Lenovo Legion Go, sticking with an older BIOS version is probably best for now. If you have updated and are experiencing issues on a device with active warranty coverage, reaching out to Lenovo remains your best bet. Should reaching out to Lenovo not be an option for you, you may want to explore rolling your device back to BIOS version N3CN40WW.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ MacBook Neo outperforms Dell XPS 13 in Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark—though I wouldn't recommend gaming on either notebook ]]> Remember those 'I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC' ad spots from years ago? Such platform rivalry feels like old, mouldering hat these days (especially to a console-gaming interloper like me). That said, we live in a world where both the MacBook Neo and the Dell XPS 13, two notebooks alike in dignity, are vying for the crown of 'most affordable entry-level notebook' at $699 a piece.

    The rivalry is old news, though a fresh twist in the tale is that apparently large Microsoft Word files actually open faster on the MacBook Neo. Independent testing carried out by PhoneBuff found that the Neo opened a 500-page Word document in a hair over 7 seconds, whereas a similarly specced Dell XPS 13 took 12 seconds (via Windows Latest).

    It's quite the upset—you'd think that after all these years, Microsoft would offer the optimum Word Doc experience within Windows. To add insult to injury, the MacBook Neo doesn't even have Apple's speedy M-series silicon, but instead features what is essentially a repurposed phone chip in the A18 Pro. Though, to be fair, this 'mere' phone chip is still comparable to older M-series chips.

    Notebooks like this can handle more than just note-taking. The Dell XPS 13 features an Intel Core 5 320 (a stripped-down version of the Panther Lake chips we like a lot), which should offer plenty of other opportunities to shine throughout PhoneBuff's testing. For instance, on startup the Dell XPS 13 races to the desktop in 24 seconds. The MacBook Neo takes very nearly twice as long, clocking in at 40 seconds. Mind you, that may not really be an, ahem, apples to apples comparsion as the notebooks are running two different operating systems.

    But as both of the laptops tested were configured with only 8 GB of RAM, you'd perhaps expect this to be a closer run thing. PhoneBuff's battery efficiency and creative workload tests are a lot more variable, but there's only one thing that I'm interested in here: gaming performance.

    Origami Linux on a Dell XPS 13 laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Cyberpunk 2077 on a notebook? It's more likely than you think—though with some caveats, obviously. The MacBook Neo loaded up CD Projekt Red's techno dystopia in a hair under 41 seconds, whereas the Dell XPS 13 managed it in 55. When it comes to the game benchmark, though, you can't even attempt to run it at ultra settings on the Dell XPS 13.

    Otherwise, when running fullscreen, the XPS 13 averages 16 fps in the benchmark, whereas the MacBook Neo averages almost 20 fps. Now, the MacBook Neo outperforming the Dell was not something I was expecting. Though I also wouldn't necessarily call 20 fps 'playable,' let alone 'enjoyable'.

    Our Ian managed to get the MacBook Neo to run Cyberpunk 2077 at 30 FPS in his own testing earlier this year. He writes in his review, "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."

    Personally, I think I'll be sticking with my rig for Cyberpunk 2077—though either notebook might still get a look in for less hardware-intensive indie releases and visual novels.

    If you manage your gaming expectations accordingly, then the XPS 13's 13-inch OLED touch display is nothing to sneeze at. The XPS 13's OLED also enjoys P3 colour gamut, meaning it supports a slightly wider range of colours than the MacBook Neo. Furthermore, its 120 Hz refresh rate is twice that of the MacBook Neo's screen—at the very least, scrolling through a webpage will feel a smidge smoother on the Dell, even if its Intel Core 5 320 chip will struggle to keep up with your competitive favourites.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/macbook-neo-outperforms-dell-xps-13-in-cyberpunk-2077-benchmark-though-i-wouldnt-recommend-gaming-on-either-notebook/ ZW4hAbnUawmHze9eGgaL4Q Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:24:56 +0000 false false false

    Remember those 'I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC' ad spots from years ago? Such platform rivalry feels like old, mouldering hat these days (especially to a console-gaming interloper like me). That said, we live in a world where both the MacBook Neo and the Dell XPS 13, two notebooks alike in dignity, are vying for the crown of 'most affordable entry-level notebook' at $699 a piece.

    The rivalry is old news, though a fresh twist in the tale is that apparently large Microsoft Word files actually open faster on the MacBook Neo. Independent testing carried out by PhoneBuff found that the Neo opened a 500-page Word document in a hair over 7 seconds, whereas a similarly specced Dell XPS 13 took 12 seconds (via Windows Latest).

    It's quite the upset—you'd think that after all these years, Microsoft would offer the optimum Word Doc experience within Windows. To add insult to injury, the MacBook Neo doesn't even have Apple's speedy M-series silicon, but instead features what is essentially a repurposed phone chip in the A18 Pro. Though, to be fair, this 'mere' phone chip is still comparable to older M-series chips.

    Notebooks like this can handle more than just note-taking. The Dell XPS 13 features an Intel Core 5 320 (a stripped-down version of the Panther Lake chips we like a lot), which should offer plenty of other opportunities to shine throughout PhoneBuff's testing. For instance, on startup the Dell XPS 13 races to the desktop in 24 seconds. The MacBook Neo takes very nearly twice as long, clocking in at 40 seconds. Mind you, that may not really be an, ahem, apples to apples comparsion as the notebooks are running two different operating systems.

    But as both of the laptops tested were configured with only 8 GB of RAM, you'd perhaps expect this to be a closer run thing. PhoneBuff's battery efficiency and creative workload tests are a lot more variable, but there's only one thing that I'm interested in here: gaming performance.

    Origami Linux on a Dell XPS 13 laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    Cyberpunk 2077 on a notebook? It's more likely than you think—though with some caveats, obviously. The MacBook Neo loaded up CD Projekt Red's techno dystopia in a hair under 41 seconds, whereas the Dell XPS 13 managed it in 55. When it comes to the game benchmark, though, you can't even attempt to run it at ultra settings on the Dell XPS 13.

    Otherwise, when running fullscreen, the XPS 13 averages 16 fps in the benchmark, whereas the MacBook Neo averages almost 20 fps. Now, the MacBook Neo outperforming the Dell was not something I was expecting. Though I also wouldn't necessarily call 20 fps 'playable,' let alone 'enjoyable'.

    Our Ian managed to get the MacBook Neo to run Cyberpunk 2077 at 30 FPS in his own testing earlier this year. He writes in his review, "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."

    Personally, I think I'll be sticking with my rig for Cyberpunk 2077—though either notebook might still get a look in for less hardware-intensive indie releases and visual novels.

    If you manage your gaming expectations accordingly, then the XPS 13's 13-inch OLED touch display is nothing to sneeze at. The XPS 13's OLED also enjoys P3 colour gamut, meaning it supports a slightly wider range of colours than the MacBook Neo. Furthermore, its 120 Hz refresh rate is twice that of the MacBook Neo's screen—at the very least, scrolling through a webpage will feel a smidge smoother on the Dell, even if its Intel Core 5 320 chip will struggle to keep up with your competitive favourites.

    ]]>     <![CDATA[ Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop review ]]>

    My, how the world can change in a year. The previous version of the Razer Blade 16 shot to the top of our best gaming laptop guide upon its release in 2025, thanks to its fantastic chassis design, great performance, and battery-powered gaming abilities, among other virtues. Yes, it was hugely expensive. But thanks to a stunning all round package, it was worth the money if you had the cash to splash.

    Now I sit with the Razer Blade 16 (2026) in front of me—and on the surface, not a whole lot has changed. I've been provided with an RTX 5090-equipped config with 32 GB of DDR5, a 2 TB SSD, and a 240 Hz 16-inch OLED display, all wrapped up in the same chassis as the old model. So far, so brilliant. The major change to this refresh, though, is the addition of one of Intel's Panther Lake-based laptop processors, the Core Ultra 9 386H.

    It's a very speedy gaming CPU, and a worthy addition to the Blade 16's armoury. But the thing I'm struggling with, as I'm sure you might have already guessed, is the price. Prepare yourself, folks. This particular Blade 16 costs, and there's no getting round it, $4,900/£4,800.

    That's $400 more than the previous RTX 5090-equipped Blade, and, as usual, you can largely blame the memory crisis. But for this sort of price, I'm not quite as convinced by the Blade 16 as I used to be. It's still a sumptuous, fabulous machine, and I'd have one in a heartbeat if I had all the money in the world. But I'd also have a gold-plated Lamborghini and a spare room made of chocolate, while I'm at it.

    Which is to say, it's become more difficult to justify the Blade 16's value for this sort of moolah. It's super-portable for a 16-inch machine, and that's worth a lot. It's a wonderfully-premium object, too, with a fantastic screen. And it gets good battery life, all the while running relatively quietly if you drop it down into Balanced mode. It's very… civilised. And I love that.

    But spending nearly five grand on an RTX 5090 gaming laptop that can be soundly beaten in the performance stakes by the often-cheaper, RTX 5080-toting Lenovo Legion Pro 7i? The idea of it stops me in my tracks. Is the Razer better in many other ways? Undoubtedly. But the price to performance delta is now skewed, and that gives me the odd doubt.

    There are cheaper, lesser-GPUed models of the Blade 16 available, and if I was buying one with my own money, that's where I'd be looking. The Razer Blade 16 is an astonishing piece of engineering, and rarely have I wanted a gaming laptop more. But crucially, I think its MSRP across the range is now substantial enough to keep me awake at night—and as a result, I've got to knock it down by a peg or two.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want the ultimate slim and light gaming machine: Some laptops are faster, it's true. But if you want something skinny that either excels, or punches hard in every single category a gaming laptop can be tested in, the Blade 16 is for you.

    ✅ You want a stunning chassis: The Blade 16 still has the best chassis design of any gaming laptop we've ever come across, and slips into most backpacks with ease.

    Don't buy if...

    ❌ You're watching your pennies: There's no getting round it, every single model of Blade 16 is very pricey given the hardware inside. Cheaper than some, though.

    ❌ You want maximum performance: Slim and light gaming laptops come with compromises, so you can find higher frame rates (and much chonkier chassis designs) elsewhere.

    Razer Blade (2026) features

    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop in front of a TV with a neon sign in the background

    (Image credit: Future)
    Razer Blade 16 tested specs

    Razer Blade 16 (2026)

    Razer Blade 16 (2025)

    CPU

    Intel Core UItra 9 386H

    AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

    GPU

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (175 W Max TGP)

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (175 W Max TGP)

    Memory

    32 GB LPDDR5X-9600

    32 GB LPDDR5-8000

    Storage

    2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

    2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

    Expansion slots

    2 x M.2 NVMe (one used)

    2 x M.2 NVMe (one used)

    Display

    16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED, 240 Hz

    16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED, 240 Hz

    Dimensions

    14.9 ~ 17.4 x 250.5 x 355 mm | 0.59 ~ 0.69 x 9.86 x 13.98 inches

    14.9 ~ 17.4 x 250.5 x 355 mm | 0.59 ~ 0.69 x 9.86 x 13.98 inches

    Battery

    90 Whr

    90 Whr

    Weight

    2.14 kg / 4.71 lbs​

    2.14 kg / 4.71 lbs​

    Price

    $4,900 / £4,800

    $4,500 / £3,900

    The 2026 version of the Blade 16 is still a lush device, and my review sample has a specs sheet to be proud of. The major internal change over our previously tested model comes in the form of the Panther Lake-based Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, which replaces the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 found in last year's top-spec config.

    It's a 16-core CPU, which breaks down into four Performance cores, eight Efficient, and four Low Power Efficient types. That core distribution might sound a little weak on paper, but in practice it adds up to create a powerful gaming chip, with a 4.9 GHz max boost frequency and a maximum boosted power draw of 80 W.

    Unfortunately, the iGPU here isn't the Arc B390 found in Intel's top-of-the-line Panther Lake chips, which feels like a bit of an omission. Instead you get a four Xe3-cored "Intel Graphics" tile, which means that for battery-based gaming you're probably going to want to lean on the dGPU. Which in this case is a beastly RTX 5090 mobile chip capable of maxing out at a 175 W TGP.

    It'll sip much less power than that in practice, of course, and you'll need a Razer cooling pad to enable its potential top wattage figure. Still, the lack of a feisty iGPU is a missed opportunity for genuinely mobile gaming, if you ask me.

    A Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop on white gravel
    Future
    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop on a wooden desk
    Future
    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop on a wooden desk, half closed
    Future
    The left hand side of the Razer Blade 16 2026 gaming laptop, showing the USB ports and power cable
    Future
    The keyboard of the Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop, lit up in green
    Future

    Lower-specced variants of the Blade 16 are available, going all the way down to an RTX 5060/Ryzen AI 9 365 config with 16 GB of DDR5 and a 1 TB SSD. Even this "bottom-spec" model, though, has an eye-watering price given the hardware inside. It's $2,400, to be precise. Oof.

    Still, my top-end sample is well-equipped no matter which way you look at it. It's got 32 GB of LPDDR5X-9600, a 2 TB Gen4 SSD, and a truly stunning 240 Hz OLED display, complete with DisplayHDR TrueBlack1000 certification.

    Every other laptop manufacturer should take a look at Razer's efforts and make notes

    It's still one of the best panels I've had the pleasure of setting my eyes upon—although it's got some serious competition in the form of the new ROG Nebula OLED displays found in the latest Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 models.

    All this high-end hardware comes wrapped in a chassis that still stands head and shoulders above the rest. The Blade 16 is astonishingly slim given the components inside, and its crisp-edged, all-business frame feels like the pinnacle of gaming laptop design.

    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop outside on white gravel

    (Image credit: Future)

    I say all business, but it's still got a big, neon green Razer logo on the back and an RGB-lit keyboard. You can always turn the lighting off, but I quite like the contrast it creates. Gamer executive chic? Something like that, anyway.

    The keyboard has more travel than you might expect from a low-profile unit, and my typing accuracy has noticeably improved when clicking away at its keys on the go. As for the trackpad? It's glorious, with a large, smooth-yet-tactile surface and ultra-responsive clicks.

    Every other laptop manufacturer should take a look at Razer's efforts here and make notes. Simply put, every part of the Blade 16 looks and feels top notch. It's amazing what huge gobs of cash will buy, isn't it?

    Razer Blade (2026) performance

    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop being held up to the sky

    (Image credit: Future)

    Jumping straight into the 1080p benchmarks, it's clear that the new Intel chip has done the Blade 16 some good when it comes to gaming performance. In Baldur's Gate 3, the newly-sharpened Blade manages to pull an impressive 21 fps lead in the averages over its older AMD-chipped sibling, with substantially higher 1% lows to boot.

    1080p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    66
    44
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    52
    39
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    63
    34
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    68
    38
    020406080
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H66 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 37063 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    The Blade 16 (2026) is comfortably faster than the previous version in most of my 1080p gaming benchmarks, although the Legion 7i Pro remains supreme.

    In Cyberpunk 2077, though, that lead shrinks to a mere 3 fps average, albeit with 10 frames gained in the 1% lows. The Blade 16 also beats the new Asus G16 quite handily, although runs into some trouble when faced with the mighty Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10.

    The Lenovo machine also scorches ahead in Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, leaving every other lappy on this chart firmly in its wake. It's a good example of how some high-wattage components in a chonkier laptop chassis can gulp down power, spin up the fans, and pull beyond their weight under duress.

    1600p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    39
    30
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    31
    24
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    39
    29
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    40
    28
    010203040
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H39 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H31 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 37039 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX40 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
    The 2026 Blade 16 beats its older sibling at 1600p, and gains a decent overall lead on the RTX 5080-equipped G16—but the Legion Pro 7i still rules the roost.

    At 1600p, the 2026 Blade 16 is virtually tied with both the older model and the Legion Pro 7i in Cyberpunk 2077. However, the Lenovo lappy knocks all our other machines for six in Baldur's Gate 3 and Black Myth Wukong.

    Despite the Legion being an RTX 5080-equipped machine, it's got a tendency to power ahead of many other gaming laptops (including some of the RTX 5090-equipped ones) thanks to a brace of very powerful cooling fans, a monstrous 24-core Intel CPU, and a larger chassis. Thermal throttling will hold back performance with any machine, and the Lenovo is better at letting its hardware run wild and free.

    It's a much heftier beast, though. While you could certainly shove its substantial, 6 lbs, rear-lipped chassis into a backpack, it's a laptop that focuses on raw performance over portability. By contrast, what the Blade 16 and Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 are aiming for is a balance between gaming chops and day-to-day usability.

    Real-world gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen. where applicable

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    112
    75
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    95
    79
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    104
    73
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    124
    83
    037.575112.5150
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1600p, RT Ultra + upscaling, 2x FG) Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H112 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H95 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370104 Avg FPS, 73 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX124 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
    It's a pretty convincing win for the Blade 16 over two of our tested machines on average, but here comes the Legion to spoil the party once more.

    Add some upscaling and frame generation into the equation, and the Blade 16 pulls ahead of both the Asus and the previous model by substantial amounts in two of my benches. The Legion Pro 7i, though, gives it a pasting in Cyberpunk and Black Myth once more, although drops a single frame behind it on average in F1 24, with worse 1% lows.

    What we're seeing here is the difference between a full fat, slightly old-school gaming laptop design with modern components, versus three slim and light machines designed to be taken on the road. While the Blade 16's gaming performance has definitely been improved by the addition of a new Intel chip, it's worth noting that better raw performance (for cheaper) can still be found elsewhere.

    Gaming GPU usage

    Average GPU frequency and power usage recorded during multiple Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition benchmark runs

    GPU stats

    Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
    Avg GPU power (W)
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1853
    143
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1868.53
    112
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    1874
    106
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    2375
    127
    07501,5002,2503,000
    GPU stats Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1853 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 143 Avg GPU power (W)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1868.53 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 112 Avg GPU power (W)
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 3701874 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 106 Avg GPU power (W)
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX2375 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 127 Avg GPU power (W)
    The Blade 16 (2026) seems happier to send more juice to its GPU than the older model, but the average frequency is still significantly lower than the RTX 5080 in the Legion Pro 7i.

    Looking at the GPU frequency figures, we can start to see where the Legion Pro 7i finds its extra grunt. While it's got toastier temps overall, the Lenovo machine's RTX 5080 is allowed to clock much higher than the other mobile GPUs on this chart.

    CPU performance

    CPU performance figures taken from the Cinebench R24 single-core and multi-core benchmarks

    Cinebench 2024

    Multi-core index score
    Single-core index score
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1200
    124
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1215
    124
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    1246
    118
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    2039
    138
    07501,5002,2503,000
    Cinebench 2024 Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1200 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1215 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 3701246 Multi-core index score, 118 Single-core index score
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX2039 Multi-core index score, 138 Single-core index score
    The Core Ultra 9 386H found in both the new Blade 16 and the G16 is plenty quick—although the 24-core chip in the Legion Pro 7i is a genuine monster.

    As for productivity, the Cinebench R24 benchmark shows the Core Ultra 9 386H tracking near-identically in both the Blade 16 and the new Asus G16. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is ahead by a nose in the multi-core stakes, but a little off the pace of both in terms of single-core performance.

    But here comes the Legion Pro 7i once more, with its 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX streaking ahead in both benches. It's no great surprise given the big Intel chip's fearsome specs sheet, but it's still impressive to see how far one of Intel's higher-core-count Arrow Lake CPUs can pull ahead when given room to breathe.

    Razer Blade 2026 thermals

    The backside of a Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop, showing the rear fan exhausts

    (Image credit: Future)

    When it comes to fan noise, the Blade 16 is a bit of a hairdryer in Turbo mode, which is where you'll get the performance figures above. It keeps its component temperatures decently in check while gaming, but the fan noise is very intrusive.

    You can say the same about just about any gaming laptop running at full tilt, though, and I've certainly heard worse. Much, much worse, now I come to think of it.

    Real-world gaming temperatures

    Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

    Gaming temperatures

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    82
    98
    62
    77
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    72
    98
    69
    77
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    86
    95
    82
    86
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    94
    105
    74
    79
    037.575112.5150
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H82 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 62 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H72 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 37086 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 82 Avg GPU (°C), 86 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX94 Avg CPU (°C), 105 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)
    The new Razer Blade 16 is better at keeping its GPU chilled than our 2025 test sample, although the CPU runs a little hotter.

    Drop the Blade 16 down into its Balanced power mode, and the fan noise, temps, and component speeds drop with it. It's remarkably quiet at these settings, although as you would expect, this does affect the gaming performance.

    I recorded a 12 fps lower result in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1600p with Quality upscaling and frame gen enabled, resulting in a 100 fps average with 68 fps 1% lows. That's still plenty fast enough for me, and likely where I'd keep the Blade 16 at all times if I owned one myself.

    And therein lies the Blade 16's party trick. When you combine its portability, good frame rates at Balanced power settings, and the still-decent battery life you'll see below, the whole package starts to make a lot more sense. It's capable of being civilised in a way most high-powered laptops are not, and that goes a significant way towards justifying the expense.

    Razer Blade 2026 battery life

    A Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop standing on its end in an open position

    (Image credit: Future)

    The new Blade 16 claims to have better overall battery life than the older model, but when it comes to my gaming test figures, that doesn't prove out. To keep things even, all of our laptops are tested by setting screen brightness to 50%, disabling the Wi-Fi, and unplugging them from the wall—which, in the Blade 16's case, causes the software to switch into a Balanced power mode.

    A 102 minute score is pretty good going, but it's still significantly lower than the previous model.

    Gaming battery life

    Results recorded in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test, with screen brightness set to 50% and Wi-Fi disabled

    PCMark 10 gaming battery life test

    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    102
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    117
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    135
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    73
    037.575112.5150
    PCMark 10 gaming battery life test Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H102
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H117
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370135
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX73
    The new Blade 16 drops significantly behind the previous model in this particular test, although it's still a long way ahead of the Legion Pro 7i.

    Synapse has an extra Battery Saver setting that lowers the power draw even further, though, so for extra points I enabled it and ran the test again. This resulted in an extra six minutes or so of battery life, which isn't exactly mindblowing. Given the limited gains, I'd prefer to keep the performance of Balanced mode while I was gaming on the go.

    Regardless, although the 2026 version of the Blade can't match the older model for gaming battery life in my regular testing, it's still an impressive result when compared to the Legion Pro 7i—which puts the difference between these machines in stark contrast.

    You might get more performance elsewhere for your cash, but if you want usable battery life and gaming chops, you'll be paying for it. The Blade 16 might not be the fastest gaming laptop on the planet, but when it comes to travel convenience, it's still a fearsome contender.

    Razer Blade 2026 aesthetics

    A Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop on carpet

    (Image credit: Future)

    The Blade 16 is a truly gorgeous machine. The crisp chassis design, stealthed-out colour palette and trim corners create a moody, purposeful aesthetic that I can't get enough of. This Razer lappy is here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and guess what? It's all out of Hubba Bubba.

    In all seriousness, this is a gaming laptop with the gamer aesthetic tastefully reigned in, which means it wouldn't look out of place in your next business meeting, or on the train to work. It's still got a big neon green Razer logo on the back and an RGB keyboard, but both can be turned off for the true stealth experience. It's lean, mean, and beautifully well-made.

    The 240 Hz OLED panel of the Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    And while we're on aesthetics, I have to rave about the Blade 16's 240 Hz OLED display. You can spot this panel from across a crowded room, as I have done at many tech conferences and events. It's stunningly vibrant without appearing over-saturated, and has caused me to stare gormlessly at benchmark demos running in the background that I'd ordinarily glance at with indifference. And the contrast levels? Sumptuous.

    I've spent a lot of time gaming on many different OLED displays, and they're usually very impressive. This one, though? It still stands out from the crowd.

    Razer Blade (2026) software

    Razer Synapse display settings running on the Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Razer)

    No laptop software is perfect, and Razer Synapse is no exception. Still, it's pretty straightforward to configure, with clearly laid-out presets for Silent, Balanced, and Performance modes to help reign in some of the fan noise (and the performance, naturally) when attached to the wall.

    CPU and GPU power settings can be custom configured for the plugged in modes, but the battery options limit you to Balanced and Battery Saver power presets—although you can still switch the fans between an automatic mode and a fixed speed option within the menus.

    I'd like to see some more manual power configuration options while on battery, but alas, the software suddenly changes from "do what you like" to "not on my watch, buddy." Otherwise, there are plenty of settings to play with. The display, speakers, keyboard, trackpad, and lighting can be tuned to your preferences, and there's a floating bar along the top showing you real time data for your CPU and GPU temps, fan speeds, and more.

    There's also a Battery Health Optimizer, which can be manually set to prevent the battery from topping itself up to the maximum, extending its overall lifespan. It's nothing revolutionary, but the Synapse integration feels reasonably comprehensive and easy enough to mess with, even if it's not quite as granular as something like Lenovo's LegionSpace solution.

    Razer Blade (2026) value

    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop on white gravel, with its screen tilted

    (Image credit: Future)

    The Razer Blade (2026) is now substantially more expensive than the previous model, and the new CPU isn't really to blame. The memory crisis has torn its way through the gaming laptop market, and the Blade 16 is far from immune. Which means that many of the Blade 16's competitors have also jumped in price. But now it's sitting perilously close to the five grand mark, a gaming laptop I genuinely adore is suddenly a tougher sell.

    Our Dave gave the previous version's performance a solid thumbs up, even though it was off the pace when compared to some heftier, far-less-portable machines. It was quieter, more refined, more pleasant to live with. And that offset some of the benchmark quibbles, an opinion I very much agree with for the newer model.

    However, while the much-faster (and much chonkier) Lenovo Legion Pro 7i can often be found for significantly less, I can't help but wonder how much the Blade's ultra-premium, ultra-portable design is actually worth. More, certainly. But substantially more? It's a very difficult thing to square.

    A Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop on a desk

    (Image credit: Future)

    There is a silver lining, though. The RTX 5080 Blade 16, with the same speedy Intel chip (albeit with a 1 TB SSD), can be found for $4,000. The RTX 5070 Ti version is cheaper still, at $3,500. And while these are still eye-watering sums for a gaming laptop, you can buy a lot of the best things the Blade has to offer for a substantially lower price.

    The Razer Blade 16 is a fabulous machine, there's absolutely no doubt. If I had a huge amount of disposable cash to spend, I'd spec one out with relatively little thought. It screams desirability from every angle, and I've loved spending time with my review sample. Plus, it's still one of the easiest 16-inch machines to stuff in your bag and take on your next flight.

    But at these prices, I think some of the Blade 16's drawbacks start to weigh more heavily upon its svelte frame. It's still one of the best gaming laptops money can buy—but for this sort of cash, I think it's lost just a touch of its shine.

    ]]>     https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-laptops/razer-blade-16-2026-review/ 7ysLkANjhLkLSSTYSuTMVV Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:44:57 +0000 Fri, 07 Aug 2026 16:22:41 +0000 false false false

    My, how the world can change in a year. The previous version of the Razer Blade 16 shot to the top of our best gaming laptop guide upon its release in 2025, thanks to its fantastic chassis design, great performance, and battery-powered gaming abilities, among other virtues. Yes, it was hugely expensive. But thanks to a stunning all round package, it was worth the money if you had the cash to splash.

    Now I sit with the Razer Blade 16 (2026) in front of me—and on the surface, not a whole lot has changed. I've been provided with an RTX 5090-equipped config with 32 GB of DDR5, a 2 TB SSD, and a 240 Hz 16-inch OLED display, all wrapped up in the same chassis as the old model. So far, so brilliant. The major change to this refresh, though, is the addition of one of Intel's Panther Lake-based laptop processors, the Core Ultra 9 386H.

    It's a very speedy gaming CPU, and a worthy addition to the Blade 16's armoury. But the thing I'm struggling with, as I'm sure you might have already guessed, is the price. Prepare yourself, folks. This particular Blade 16 costs, and there's no getting round it, $4,900/£4,800.

    That's $400 more than the previous RTX 5090-equipped Blade, and, as usual, you can largely blame the memory crisis. But for this sort of price, I'm not quite as convinced by the Blade 16 as I used to be. It's still a sumptuous, fabulous machine, and I'd have one in a heartbeat if I had all the money in the world. But I'd also have a gold-plated Lamborghini and a spare room made of chocolate, while I'm at it.

    Which is to say, it's become more difficult to justify the Blade 16's value for this sort of moolah. It's super-portable for a 16-inch machine, and that's worth a lot. It's a wonderfully-premium object, too, with a fantastic screen. And it gets good battery life, all the while running relatively quietly if you drop it down into Balanced mode. It's very… civilised. And I love that.

    But spending nearly five grand on an RTX 5090 gaming laptop that can be soundly beaten in the performance stakes by the often-cheaper, RTX 5080-toting Lenovo Legion Pro 7i? The idea of it stops me in my tracks. Is the Razer better in many other ways? Undoubtedly. But the price to performance delta is now skewed, and that gives me the odd doubt.

    There are cheaper, lesser-GPUed models of the Blade 16 available, and if I was buying one with my own money, that's where I'd be looking. The Razer Blade 16 is an astonishing piece of engineering, and rarely have I wanted a gaming laptop more. But crucially, I think its MSRP across the range is now substantial enough to keep me awake at night—and as a result, I've got to knock it down by a peg or two.

    Buy if...

    ✅ You want the ultimate slim and light gaming machine: Some laptops are faster, it's true. But if you want something skinny that either excels, or punches hard in every single category a gaming laptop can be tested in, the Blade 16 is for you.

    ✅ You want a stunning chassis: The Blade 16 still has the best chassis design of any gaming laptop we've ever come across, and slips into most backpacks with ease.

    Don't buy if...

    ❌ You're watching your pennies: There's no getting round it, every single model of Blade 16 is very pricey given the hardware inside. Cheaper than some, though.

    ❌ You want maximum performance: Slim and light gaming laptops come with compromises, so you can find higher frame rates (and much chonkier chassis designs) elsewhere.

    Razer Blade (2026) features

    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop in front of a TV with a neon sign in the background

    (Image credit: Future)
    Razer Blade 16 tested specs

    Razer Blade 16 (2026)

    Razer Blade 16 (2025)

    CPU

    Intel Core UItra 9 386H

    AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

    GPU

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (175 W Max TGP)

    Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 (175 W Max TGP)

    Memory

    32 GB LPDDR5X-9600

    32 GB LPDDR5-8000

    Storage

    2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

    2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

    Expansion slots

    2 x M.2 NVMe (one used)

    2 x M.2 NVMe (one used)

    Display

    16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED, 240 Hz

    16-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED, 240 Hz

    Dimensions

    14.9 ~ 17.4 x 250.5 x 355 mm | 0.59 ~ 0.69 x 9.86 x 13.98 inches

    14.9 ~ 17.4 x 250.5 x 355 mm | 0.59 ~ 0.69 x 9.86 x 13.98 inches

    Battery

    90 Whr

    90 Whr

    Weight

    2.14 kg / 4.71 lbs​

    2.14 kg / 4.71 lbs​

    Price

    $4,900 / £4,800

    $4,500 / £3,900

    The 2026 version of the Blade 16 is still a lush device, and my review sample has a specs sheet to be proud of. The major internal change over our previously tested model comes in the form of the Panther Lake-based Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, which replaces the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 found in last year's top-spec config.

    It's a 16-core CPU, which breaks down into four Performance cores, eight Efficient, and four Low Power Efficient types. That core distribution might sound a little weak on paper, but in practice it adds up to create a powerful gaming chip, with a 4.9 GHz max boost frequency and a maximum boosted power draw of 80 W.

    Unfortunately, the iGPU here isn't the Arc B390 found in Intel's top-of-the-line Panther Lake chips, which feels like a bit of an omission. Instead you get a four Xe3-cored "Intel Graphics" tile, which means that for battery-based gaming you're probably going to want to lean on the dGPU. Which in this case is a beastly RTX 5090 mobile chip capable of maxing out at a 175 W TGP.

    It'll sip much less power than that in practice, of course, and you'll need a Razer cooling pad to enable its potential top wattage figure. Still, the lack of a feisty iGPU is a missed opportunity for genuinely mobile gaming, if you ask me.

    A Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop on white gravel
    Future
    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop on a wooden desk
    Future
    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop on a wooden desk, half closed
    Future
    The left hand side of the Razer Blade 16 2026 gaming laptop, showing the USB ports and power cable
    Future
    The keyboard of the Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop, lit up in green
    Future

    Lower-specced variants of the Blade 16 are available, going all the way down to an RTX 5060/Ryzen AI 9 365 config with 16 GB of DDR5 and a 1 TB SSD. Even this "bottom-spec" model, though, has an eye-watering price given the hardware inside. It's $2,400, to be precise. Oof.

    Still, my top-end sample is well-equipped no matter which way you look at it. It's got 32 GB of LPDDR5X-9600, a 2 TB Gen4 SSD, and a truly stunning 240 Hz OLED display, complete with DisplayHDR TrueBlack1000 certification.

    Every other laptop manufacturer should take a look at Razer's efforts and make notes

    It's still one of the best panels I've had the pleasure of setting my eyes upon—although it's got some serious competition in the form of the new ROG Nebula OLED displays found in the latest Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 models.

    All this high-end hardware comes wrapped in a chassis that still stands head and shoulders above the rest. The Blade 16 is astonishingly slim given the components inside, and its crisp-edged, all-business frame feels like the pinnacle of gaming laptop design.

    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop outside on white gravel

    (Image credit: Future)

    I say all business, but it's still got a big, neon green Razer logo on the back and an RGB-lit keyboard. You can always turn the lighting off, but I quite like the contrast it creates. Gamer executive chic? Something like that, anyway.

    The keyboard has more travel than you might expect from a low-profile unit, and my typing accuracy has noticeably improved when clicking away at its keys on the go. As for the trackpad? It's glorious, with a large, smooth-yet-tactile surface and ultra-responsive clicks.

    Every other laptop manufacturer should take a look at Razer's efforts here and make notes. Simply put, every part of the Blade 16 looks and feels top notch. It's amazing what huge gobs of cash will buy, isn't it?

    Razer Blade (2026) performance

    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop being held up to the sky

    (Image credit: Future)

    Jumping straight into the 1080p benchmarks, it's clear that the new Intel chip has done the Blade 16 some good when it comes to gaming performance. In Baldur's Gate 3, the newly-sharpened Blade manages to pull an impressive 21 fps lead in the averages over its older AMD-chipped sibling, with substantially higher 1% lows to boot.

    1080p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1080p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    66
    44
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    52
    39
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    63
    34
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    68
    38
    020406080
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H66 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H52 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 37063 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX68 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
    The Blade 16 (2026) is comfortably faster than the previous version in most of my 1080p gaming benchmarks, although the Legion 7i Pro remains supreme.

    In Cyberpunk 2077, though, that lead shrinks to a mere 3 fps average, albeit with 10 frames gained in the 1% lows. The Blade 16 also beats the new Asus G16 quite handily, although runs into some trouble when faced with the mighty Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10.

    The Lenovo machine also scorches ahead in Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, leaving every other lappy on this chart firmly in its wake. It's a good example of how some high-wattage components in a chonkier laptop chassis can gulp down power, spin up the fans, and pull beyond their weight under duress.

    1600p gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    39
    30
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    31
    24
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    39
    29
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    40
    28
    010203040
    Cyberpunk 2077 (Native res. RT Ultra) Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H39 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H31 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 37039 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX40 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
    The 2026 Blade 16 beats its older sibling at 1600p, and gains a decent overall lead on the RTX 5080-equipped G16—but the Legion Pro 7i still rules the roost.

    At 1600p, the 2026 Blade 16 is virtually tied with both the older model and the Legion Pro 7i in Cyberpunk 2077. However, the Lenovo lappy knocks all our other machines for six in Baldur's Gate 3 and Black Myth Wukong.

    Despite the Legion being an RTX 5080-equipped machine, it's got a tendency to power ahead of many other gaming laptops (including some of the RTX 5090-equipped ones) thanks to a brace of very powerful cooling fans, a monstrous 24-core Intel CPU, and a larger chassis. Thermal throttling will hold back performance with any machine, and the Lenovo is better at letting its hardware run wild and free.

    It's a much heftier beast, though. While you could certainly shove its substantial, 6 lbs, rear-lipped chassis into a backpack, it's a laptop that focuses on raw performance over portability. By contrast, what the Blade 16 and Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 are aiming for is a balance between gaming chops and day-to-day usability.

    Real-world gaming performance

    This chart shows average and 1% low frame rate results in various tested games at 1600p resolution with Quality upscaling enabled, and frame gen. where applicable

    Avg FPS
    1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    112
    75
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    95
    79
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    104
    73
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    124
    83
    037.575112.5150
    Cyberpunk 2077 (1600p, RT Ultra + upscaling, 2x FG) Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H112 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPS
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H95 Avg FPS, 79 1% Low FPS
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370104 Avg FPS, 73 1% Low FPS
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX124 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
    It's a pretty convincing win for the Blade 16 over two of our tested machines on average, but here comes the Legion to spoil the party once more.

    Add some upscaling and frame generation into the equation, and the Blade 16 pulls ahead of both the Asus and the previous model by substantial amounts in two of my benches. The Legion Pro 7i, though, gives it a pasting in Cyberpunk and Black Myth once more, although drops a single frame behind it on average in F1 24, with worse 1% lows.

    What we're seeing here is the difference between a full fat, slightly old-school gaming laptop design with modern components, versus three slim and light machines designed to be taken on the road. While the Blade 16's gaming performance has definitely been improved by the addition of a new Intel chip, it's worth noting that better raw performance (for cheaper) can still be found elsewhere.

    Gaming GPU usage

    Average GPU frequency and power usage recorded during multiple Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition benchmark runs

    GPU stats

    Avg GPU freq. (MHz)
    Avg GPU power (W)
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1853
    143
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1868.53
    112
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    1874
    106
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    2375
    127
    07501,5002,2503,000
    GPU stats Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1853 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 143 Avg GPU power (W)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1868.53 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 112 Avg GPU power (W)
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 3701874 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 106 Avg GPU power (W)
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX2375 Avg GPU freq. (MHz), 127 Avg GPU power (W)
    The Blade 16 (2026) seems happier to send more juice to its GPU than the older model, but the average frequency is still significantly lower than the RTX 5080 in the Legion Pro 7i.

    Looking at the GPU frequency figures, we can start to see where the Legion Pro 7i finds its extra grunt. While it's got toastier temps overall, the Lenovo machine's RTX 5080 is allowed to clock much higher than the other mobile GPUs on this chart.

    CPU performance

    CPU performance figures taken from the Cinebench R24 single-core and multi-core benchmarks

    Cinebench 2024

    Multi-core index score
    Single-core index score
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1200
    124
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    1215
    124
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    1246
    118
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    2039
    138
    07501,5002,2503,000
    Cinebench 2024 Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1200 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H1215 Multi-core index score, 124 Single-core index score
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 3701246 Multi-core index score, 118 Single-core index score
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX2039 Multi-core index score, 138 Single-core index score
    The Core Ultra 9 386H found in both the new Blade 16 and the G16 is plenty quick—although the 24-core chip in the Legion Pro 7i is a genuine monster.

    As for productivity, the Cinebench R24 benchmark shows the Core Ultra 9 386H tracking near-identically in both the Blade 16 and the new Asus G16. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is ahead by a nose in the multi-core stakes, but a little off the pace of both in terms of single-core performance.

    But here comes the Legion Pro 7i once more, with its 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX streaking ahead in both benches. It's no great surprise given the big Intel chip's fearsome specs sheet, but it's still impressive to see how far one of Intel's higher-core-count Arrow Lake CPUs can pull ahead when given room to breathe.

    Razer Blade 2026 thermals

    The backside of a Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop, showing the rear fan exhausts

    (Image credit: Future)

    When it comes to fan noise, the Blade 16 is a bit of a hairdryer in Turbo mode, which is where you'll get the performance figures above. It keeps its component temperatures decently in check while gaming, but the fan noise is very intrusive.

    You can say the same about just about any gaming laptop running at full tilt, though, and I've certainly heard worse. Much, much worse, now I come to think of it.

    Real-world gaming temperatures

    Gaming temperature results recorded during multiple Metro Exodus EE runs

    Gaming temperatures

    Avg CPU (°C)
    Max CPU (°C)
    Avg GPU (°C)
    Max GPU (°C)
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    82
    98
    62
    77
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    72
    98
    69
    77
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    86
    95
    82
    86
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    94
    105
    74
    79
    037.575112.5150
    Gaming temperatures Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H82 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 62 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H72 Avg CPU (°C), 98 Max CPU (°C), 69 Avg GPU (°C), 77 Max GPU (°C)
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 37086 Avg CPU (°C), 95 Max CPU (°C), 82 Avg GPU (°C), 86 Max GPU (°C)
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX94 Avg CPU (°C), 105 Max CPU (°C), 74 Avg GPU (°C), 79 Max GPU (°C)
    The new Razer Blade 16 is better at keeping its GPU chilled than our 2025 test sample, although the CPU runs a little hotter.

    Drop the Blade 16 down into its Balanced power mode, and the fan noise, temps, and component speeds drop with it. It's remarkably quiet at these settings, although as you would expect, this does affect the gaming performance.

    I recorded a 12 fps lower result in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1600p with Quality upscaling and frame gen enabled, resulting in a 100 fps average with 68 fps 1% lows. That's still plenty fast enough for me, and likely where I'd keep the Blade 16 at all times if I owned one myself.

    And therein lies the Blade 16's party trick. When you combine its portability, good frame rates at Balanced power settings, and the still-decent battery life you'll see below, the whole package starts to make a lot more sense. It's capable of being civilised in a way most high-powered laptops are not, and that goes a significant way towards justifying the expense.

    Razer Blade 2026 battery life

    A Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop standing on its end in an open position

    (Image credit: Future)

    The new Blade 16 claims to have better overall battery life than the older model, but when it comes to my gaming test figures, that doesn't prove out. To keep things even, all of our laptops are tested by setting screen brightness to 50%, disabling the Wi-Fi, and unplugging them from the wall—which, in the Blade 16's case, causes the software to switch into a Balanced power mode.

    A 102 minute score is pretty good going, but it's still significantly lower than the previous model.

    Gaming battery life

    Results recorded in the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test, with screen brightness set to 50% and Wi-Fi disabled

    PCMark 10 gaming battery life test

    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    102
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H
    117
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
    135
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX
    73
    037.575112.5150
    PCMark 10 gaming battery life test Data
    ProductValue
    Razer Blade 16 (2026) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H102
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) | RTX 5080 (135 W) | Core Ultra 9 386H117
    Razer Blade 16 (2025) | RTX 5090 (175 W) | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370135
    Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | RTX 5080 (175 W) | Core Ultra 9 275 HX73
    The new Blade 16 drops significantly behind the previous model in this particular test, although it's still a long way ahead of the Legion Pro 7i.

    Synapse has an extra Battery Saver setting that lowers the power draw even further, though, so for extra points I enabled it and ran the test again. This resulted in an extra six minutes or so of battery life, which isn't exactly mindblowing. Given the limited gains, I'd prefer to keep the performance of Balanced mode while I was gaming on the go.

    Regardless, although the 2026 version of the Blade can't match the older model for gaming battery life in my regular testing, it's still an impressive result when compared to the Legion Pro 7i—which puts the difference between these machines in stark contrast.

    You might get more performance elsewhere for your cash, but if you want usable battery life and gaming chops, you'll be paying for it. The Blade 16 might not be the fastest gaming laptop on the planet, but when it comes to travel convenience, it's still a fearsome contender.

    Razer Blade 2026 aesthetics

    A Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop on carpet

    (Image credit: Future)

    The Blade 16 is a truly gorgeous machine. The crisp chassis design, stealthed-out colour palette and trim corners create a moody, purposeful aesthetic that I can't get enough of. This Razer lappy is here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and guess what? It's all out of Hubba Bubba.

    In all seriousness, this is a gaming laptop with the gamer aesthetic tastefully reigned in, which means it wouldn't look out of place in your next business meeting, or on the train to work. It's still got a big neon green Razer logo on the back and an RGB keyboard, but both can be turned off for the true stealth experience. It's lean, mean, and beautifully well-made.

    The 240 Hz OLED panel of the Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Future)

    And while we're on aesthetics, I have to rave about the Blade 16's 240 Hz OLED display. You can spot this panel from across a crowded room, as I have done at many tech conferences and events. It's stunningly vibrant without appearing over-saturated, and has caused me to stare gormlessly at benchmark demos running in the background that I'd ordinarily glance at with indifference. And the contrast levels? Sumptuous.

    I've spent a lot of time gaming on many different OLED displays, and they're usually very impressive. This one, though? It still stands out from the crowd.

    Razer Blade (2026) software

    Razer Synapse display settings running on the Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop

    (Image credit: Razer)

    No laptop software is perfect, and Razer Synapse is no exception. Still, it's pretty straightforward to configure, with clearly laid-out presets for Silent, Balanced, and Performance modes to help reign in some of the fan noise (and the performance, naturally) when attached to the wall.

    CPU and GPU power settings can be custom configured for the plugged in modes, but the battery options limit you to Balanced and Battery Saver power presets—although you can still switch the fans between an automatic mode and a fixed speed option within the menus.

    I'd like to see some more manual power configuration options while on battery, but alas, the software suddenly changes from "do what you like" to "not on my watch, buddy." Otherwise, there are plenty of settings to play with. The display, speakers, keyboard, trackpad, and lighting can be tuned to your preferences, and there's a floating bar along the top showing you real time data for your CPU and GPU temps, fan speeds, and more.

    There's also a Battery Health Optimizer, which can be manually set to prevent the battery from topping itself up to the maximum, extending its overall lifespan. It's nothing revolutionary, but the Synapse integration feels reasonably comprehensive and easy enough to mess with, even if it's not quite as granular as something like Lenovo's LegionSpace solution.

    Razer Blade (2026) value

    A Razer Blade 16 gaming laptop on white gravel, with its screen tilted

    (Image credit: Future)

    The Razer Blade (2026) is now substantially more expensive than the previous model, and the new CPU isn't really to blame. The memory crisis has torn its way through the gaming laptop market, and the Blade 16 is far from immune. Which means that many of the Blade 16's competitors have also jumped in price. But now it's sitting perilously close to the five grand mark, a gaming laptop I genuinely adore is suddenly a tougher sell.

    Our Dave gave the previous version's performance a solid thumbs up, even though it was off the pace when compared to some heftier, far-less-portable machines. It was quieter, more refined, more pleasant to live with. And that offset some of the benchmark quibbles, an opinion I very much agree with for the newer model.

    However, while the much-faster (and much chonkier) Lenovo Legion Pro 7i can often be found for significantly less, I can't help but wonder how much the Blade's ultra-premium, ultra-portable design is actually worth. More, certainly. But substantially more? It's a very difficult thing to square.

    A Razer Blade 16 (2026) gaming laptop on a desk

    (Image credit: Future)

    There is a silver lining, though. The RTX 5080 Blade 16, with the same speedy Intel chip (albeit with a 1 TB SSD), can be found for $4,000. The RTX 5070 Ti version is cheaper still, at $3,500. And while these are still eye-watering sums for a gaming laptop, you can buy a lot of the best things the Blade has to offer for a substantially lower price.

    The Razer Blade 16 is a fabulous machine, there's absolutely no doubt. If I had a huge amount of disposable cash to spend, I'd spec one out with relatively little thought. It screams desirability from every angle, and I've loved spending time with my review sample. Plus, it's still one of the easiest 16-inch machines to stuff in your bag and take on your next flight.

    But at these prices, I think some of the Blade 16's drawbacks start to weigh more heavily upon its svelte frame. It's still one of the best gaming laptops money can buy—but for this sort of cash, I think it's lost just a touch of its shine.

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