The fastest GeForce RTX 4090 & RTX 4080 GPUs from NVIDIA are now available in gaming laptops, and initial performance testing reveal amazing improvements.
The fastest processors available for gaming laptops are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 GPUs. They provide the greatest generational performance gains and the highest levels of efficiency. These laptop chips also include cutting-edge capabilities like DLSS 3, which allows for a performance improvement of up to 4 times over native resolution. Let’s now examine what these chips are all about.
Extreme Performance, Extreme Power: Laptop GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, 16 GB
The top-tier GeForce RTX 4090 has the same NVIDIA AD103 GPU core arrangement as the desktop-class RTX 4080, with a total of 76 SMs or 9728 CUDA cores. It also has TGP options between 150W and 175W (+25W Dynamic Boost). The 1590 MHz Base and 2040 MHz Boost clock ranges will be used for the 150W TGP objective. Additionally, there is a 25W Dynamic Boost that enables even higher boost clocks.
High-end for everyone: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 12 GB Laptop GPU
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB option is the next one up. It has a total of 58 SMs with 7424 cores and a memory setup that comprises 12 GB of GDDR6 capacity across a 192-bit interface. The GPU is a scaled-down version of the Ada AD104 design, the same chip used in the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Desktop graphics card. In actuality, the GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU has roughly 24% less cores than the RTX 4080 graphics card for desktop computers.
The GPU uses the AD104 GPU core but ships with a similar TGP range. With a Base clock of 1.86 GHz and a Boost clock of 2.28 GHz for the 150W objective, the GPU will have a 150W and up to 175W TGP range. Additionally, the RTX 4080 will receive an expanded 25W Dynamic Boost range.
First, let’s look at the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU’s performance. This mobile GPU was tested by MyDrivers on a Zero Thunderobot system and was able to use up to 170W of power while maintaining GPU core temperatures below 80C. The memory is observed operating at a temperature of 85C, which is only slightly above its thermal threshold.
As seen, the GPU receives 10,203 points in 3DMark Time Spy Extreme and 19,387 points in 3DMark Time Spy. The same GPU achieves scores of 13,371 in 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra and 26,100 in 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme. This is an improvement in performance of up to 60% over the previous generation’s flagship 3080 Ti Laptop GPU.
With better designs, such as the ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 17, which was examined by ITHome, the GPU can score far higher. Although the GPU on the SCAR 17 operates under the same 175W power limit, it only reaches a maximum temperature of 70C during the Furmark stress test. Here, the GPU outperformed the other laptop’s 4090 by scoring 22,044 in 3DMark Time Spy and 26,526 in 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme. This brings the performance on par with an RTX 3090 or RTX 4070 Ti graphics card for desktop computers.
Additionally, PCWorld demonstrated their own gaming and content-creation benchmarks, which show a significant performance improvement over the previous generation. According to Hardware Unboxed, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 (150-175W) laptop GPU can perform 58% better at 4K resolution than the RTX 3080 Ti desktop GPU. This is a significant improvement, as demonstrated by the desktop-class RTX 4090 graphics card. While this was going on, Jarrod’sTech looked at a Lenovo machine with an RTX 4080 laptop and discovered an average performance improvement of >25% at 4K resolution over the RTX 3080 Ti laptop.
The only drawback is that buying one of these monstrous computers will cost you several thousand dollars. But according to this intriguing graph by Jarrod’sTech comparing the price per frame, the new RTX 40 Ada laptop really provides a marginally better value for its performance. For instance, the least expensive RTX 4090 laptop available from Newegg costs $3,499 US (AORUS 17X). but the least expensive RTX 4080 laptop at Newegg costs US $2,299 (AORUS 17H). The list of RTX 4090 & RTX 4080 laptops available at Newegg is as follows:
RTX 4090 Laptops:
- Gigabyte AORUS 17X (Core i9-13900HX + RTX 4090) – $3499 US
- MSI Stealth 17 Studio (Core i9-13900H + RTX 4090) – $3999 US
- MSI Raider GE78 HX 13 (Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4090) – $3999 US
- Razer Blade 16 (Core i9-13950HX + RTX 4090) – $4299 US
- Razer Blade 18 (Core i9-13950HX + RTX 4090) – $4499 US
- ASUS ROG STRIX Scar 18 (Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4090) – $5199 US
- MSI Titan GT77HX 13 (Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4090) – $5299 US
RTX 4080 Laptops:
- Gigabyte AORUS 17H (Core i7-13700H + RTX 4080) – $2299 US
- Gigabyte AORUS 17H (Core i9-13900H + RTX 4080) – $2599 US
- Gigabyte AORUS 17X (Core i9-13900H + RTX 4080) – $2699 US
- ASUS ROG STRIX Scar 16 (Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4080) – $2899 US
- Razer Blade 16 (Core i9-13950HX + RTX 4080) – $3599 US
- MSI Raider GE78 HX 13 (Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4080) – $3599 US
- ASUS ROG STRIX G16 (Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4080) – $3650 US
- Razer Blade 18 (Core i9-13950HX + RTX 4080) – $3799 US
- MSI Titan GT77HX 13 (Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4080) – $4299 US
