Key Takeaways
1. Limited Availability of Test Samples: There are ongoing issues with the availability of laptops featuring the new RTX 5000 series GPUs, significantly impacting the review process.
2. Focus on Upscaling Technologies: Nvidia emphasizes upscaling features like DLSS4, but high-end users expect better performance improvements without relying on these technologies.
3. Marginal Performance Gains: The RTX 5090 Laptop and RTX 5080 Laptop offer only slight performance improvements over older models, making upgrades less compelling for users.
4. Driver Problems and Stability Issues: Frequent driver updates from Nvidia have led to new problems, including increased power consumption and crashes in games, causing frustration for gamers and reviewers alike.
5. Lack of Competition in the Mobile GPU Market: Nvidia faces little competition, limiting choices for manufacturers and consumers, which raises concerns about innovation and performance in the mobile GPU space.
Expectations were sky-high when Nvidia finally introduced its new generation of mobile GPUs after a two-year wait. The review embargo for the flagship RTX 5090 Laptop was only lifted at the end of March, following some delays. Initially, reviews were limited to the Razer Blade 16, which wasn’t even using the top-tier version of the RTX 5090 Laptop. Thus, it wasn’t the best choice to showcase this new high-end GPU. The situation improved in April and May regarding the availability of laptops with the RTX 5090 Laptop and RTX 5080 Laptop, but not all manufacturers have been able to produce these devices yet.
Test Sample Availability Issues
A major hurdle continues to be the availability of test samples. For the RTX 5070 Ti Laptop review embargo, there were simply no devices available, while the situation was a bit better for the standard RTX 5070 Laptop. Furthermore, the newly announced RTX 5060 Laptop at Computex appears to be a paper launch, and we do not expect to see review units until June at the earliest.
Upscaling Technology Focus
Nvidia’s main focus for the RTX 5000 Laptop series is on upscaling technologies like DLSS4 and the new multi-frame generation. While this is certainly beneficial for lower-end graphics cards like the RTX 5060 Laptop, those investing a significant sum in high-end models expect substantial performance improvements without relying on upscaling. Unfortunately, both the RTX 5090 Laptop and RTX 5080 Laptop only deliver marginal performance gains, making it hard to justify an upgrade from older models such as the RTX 4090 Laptop and RTX 4080 Laptop.
Driver Problems and Stability Issues
The new RTX 5070 Ti with 12 GB VRAM stands out as a positive exception and should have replaced the older RTX 4070 Laptop. However, the RTX 5070 Laptop is only a bit faster than the 4070 but remains limited to 8 GB VRAM. This is a letdown for many gamers who play casually. We are still waiting to see how the RTX 5060 Laptop performs, but the RTX 5070 Laptop doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Another significant problem is the situation with drivers. Nvidia tends to release new driver updates every week, yet some have introduced new issues. For instance, starting with version 567.02, GPUs were reported to consume power even when inactive, according to Nvidia’s software and other monitoring tools. This affects various measurements, including power consumption and temperatures.
Some driver updates have caused crashes in current games, leading to noticeable performance variances not limited to minor improvements. Overall, this is quite frustrating and presents challenges for reviewers who must stay vigilant for new issues. It’s unclear when normalcy will return, but the latest two versions, 576.28 and 576.40, appear to have resolved some stability concerns. As we were wrapping up this article, Nvidia released another update (576.52), which also comes in a studio version that has been stuck at 576.02 until now.
In conclusion, the launch of Nvidia’s new laptop GPUs has turned out to be quite chaotic. We did not anticipate such problems regarding the limited availability of test samples or the ongoing driver issues. The significant concern is Nvidia’s lack of competition in the mobile market. This situation likely won’t change since manufacturers have no real alternatives and are forced to use Nvidia GPUs in their latest laptops.
Mobile gamers can only wish that AMD will not exclusively focus on speedy iGPU solutions like Strix Halo in the future (even though availability remains poor) but will also provide high-end GPUs to finally challenge Nvidia in this space.
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