Nvidia Announces 50-Series Laptop GPUs
Nvidia just announced the new 50-Series laptop GPUs, and at the same time, both Intel and AMD have new laptop CPUs. There’s a lot of powerful laptop hardware coming this year, and it looks like 2025 will be a stacked year for gaming laptops. At the top of Nvidia’s lineup, there are four new GPUs: the RTX 5090, 5080, 5070 Ti, and the standard 5070. Compared to the previous 40-Series GPUs, these offer a significant jump in CUDA core count, but power consumption appears to be roughly the same.
Huge VRAM Upgrade with GDDR7 Memory
In terms of VRAM, Nvidia is now using GDDR7 memory, which is incredibly fast. The top-end RTX 5090 model has 24GB of VRAM, which is a massive amount for a laptop GPU. Some games can take advantage of this, but you’d need something extremely demanding, like a heavily modded Skyrim or Fallout 4 with ray-traced graphics, to really push it. For users running large language models (LLMs) locally, certain models can also fill up that VRAM quickly, but overall, it’s an insane amount of video memory for a laptop.
Performance Gains and DLSS 4
The big takeaway from Nvidia’s presentation was the performance increase. The only benchmarks they showed were from their desktop lineup, and even then, the data was limited. From what they did show, the desktop 50-Series GPUs appear to be about 25 to 30 percent faster than the previous generation in terms of raw performance. If these gains translate to laptops, it will be a solid performance boost. However, as always, Nvidia carefully selects benchmarks to make their products look as good as possible, so these numbers should be taken with some caution. They’re highlighting performance jumps that are best-case scenarios, especially when using DLSS, their AI-powered gaming toolset.
DLSS 4 is the latest version, and its key feature is multi-frame generation. With this, for every one frame rendered by the GPU, three additional AI-generated frames are created. This leads to a massive increase in frame rates, but the real test will be whether the image quality holds up. Right now, it looks like impressive technology, but it’s important to wait for real-world testing before making any final judgments. Unfortunately, DLSS 4 is only available on the 50-Series GPUs, making it an exclusive feature of the new lineup.
Intel and AMD Launch New Laptop CPUs
Intel has also introduced its new Core Ultra 200 Series processors, based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a maximum of 24 cores. On the AMD side, there’s a lineup of new laptop chips, but the most interesting one is the Strix Halo series. These processors combine a powerful CPU and GPU into a single package, with the integrated GPU performing at a level similar to an RTX 4060 or 4070. This is a significant leap in integrated graphics performance, and I got to check out a laptop running one of these new chips.
Hands-On with the Latest RTX 5090 Laptops
At an Asus event, I was able to see some of the first laptops featuring the new RTX 5090 GPU. The first models I saw were the ROG Strix Scar 16 and 18, Asus’s flagship gaming laptops for this year. These can be configured with Intel’s Core Ultra 9 processor and an RTX 5090. One of the new features this year is the AniMe Vision panel, which allows users to display custom messages, animations, or even memes on the laptop. The laptops also have a full RGB lighting perimeter, which looks really good in person.
A particularly cool feature of the new Strix Scar laptops is the tool-less bottom panel. It’s extremely easy to remove and put back, which is great for cleaning or upgrading components. In terms of cooling, these laptops use a full-length vapor chamber, triple fans, and liquid metal thermal compound. Both the 16-inch and 18-inch models have the same battery size at 90 watt-hours, and the CPU and GPU wattage limits are also the same, despite the larger 18-inch version. That will be something to test in real-world usage.
Mini-LED Displays and the Need for an External Monitor
The Strix Scar laptops feature Nebula Mini-LED panels with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a super-fast 240Hz refresh rate. However, these displays are only QHD resolution, not 4K. If you’re using a high-end configuration with an RTX 5090, it feels like you’d need to connect an external monitor to fully utilize that GPU power.
I also saw the standard Strix G16 and G18 models, which are slightly less flashy versions of the flagship Strix Scar series. They don’t have the AniMe Vision panel, but they still retain the underglow RGB lighting. These are available in both AMD and Intel configurations, but they don’t support an RTX 5090—only up to an RTX 5080 or below.
Zephyrus G14 and G16 – Sleek and Powerful
The Zephyrus G14 and G16 are some of my favorite Asus laptops. They have a very clean design, and I really like the LED stripe on the back. The G16 can be configured with an RTX 5090, while the G14 goes up to an RTX 5080. One noticeable change is that the new 2025 Zephyrus G14 is slightly thicker than the previous model. Comparing the two side by side, the new version has a small bump on the bottom, which improves cooling but also makes the laptop a little thicker.
XG Mobile External GPU with RTX 5090
Another interesting reveal was the new XG Mobile external GPU. This is a compact external graphics enclosure that supports up to an RTX 5090. It connects via Thunderbolt 4, but the spec sheet states that it only works with Thunderbolt 4, not Thunderbolt 3. This is a bit unexpected since Thunderbolt 3 has the same 40Gbps bandwidth and PCI lanes. It’s possible that the controller inside the XG Mobile is designed specifically for Thunderbolt 4, offering better stability, but we’ll need more details to confirm that.
Flow Z13 – The Most Powerful Gaming Tablet
One of the most unique devices I saw was the Flow Z13, a gaming tablet powered by AMD’s new Strix Halo chip. This is the third iteration of Asus’s gaming tablet, and it feels like the perfect form factor to showcase the new chip. The Strix Halo processor in this device is the Ryzen AI Max Plus 395, paired with the 860S GPU, which features 40 GPU cores and is expected to perform like an RTX 4070.
After testing it, I can say that this is by far the most powerful gaming tablet I’ve ever used. It completely outperforms anything else in this category, thanks to the Strix Halo chip combining a powerful CPU and GPU in one package. I’ll be doing a full review of this device soon, along with all the other hardware I saw at the event.
Final Thoughts – A Huge Year for Gaming Laptops
This year is shaping up to be massive for gaming laptops. With Nvidia’s new RTX 5090, Intel and AMD’s latest CPUs, and new designs from manufacturers like Asus, there’s a lot of exciting technology coming. Now, I just hope Nvidia’s new laptop GPUs deliver on their promises because it has been a while since we’ve seen major improvements in this space. I’ll be testing all these new laptops and components in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more CES coverage.
