I can't say I'm surprised, but Nvidia's RTX 5090 laptop GPU has a big performance leap over its predecessor, according to early benchmarks
We've got a good one on our hands...

- A new early benchmark reveals that the RTX 5090 laptop GPU outperforms the RTX 4090 variant
- It performs 65% faster in Hogwarts Legacy on DLSS balanced at maximum graphics settings
- With Multi-Frame Generation frame rates are above and beyond what is provided by the RTX 4090 laptop GPU
Nvidia's RTX 5000 series GPU lineup still has more to offer, with new desktop and laptop GPUs in the pipeline. Fortunately, some early benchmarks on the upcoming flagship laptop variant are already here. Spoiler alert: they're very promising.
As reported by YouTuber Dave2D in a new video, the RTX 5090 laptop GPU outperforms its RTX 4090 predecessor across several different demanding titles, using DLSS upscaling in early benchmarks. This was in the new Razer Blade 16, utilizing an OLED 2560x1600 display, and it's currently available for pre-order.
The RTX 5090 features 24GB of GDDR7 VRAM over the previous 16GB GDDR6 seen in the 4090, likely playing a significant part in the performance uplifts. One of the examples in Dave2D’s video is Hogwarts Legacy: with ray tracing and DLSS on 'balanced' mode at ultra graphics settings, the RTX 5090 is 65% faster than the RTX 4090, a significant boost over the last-gen flagship laptop GPU.
In another demanding title, Black Myth: Wukong, the RTX 5090 runs 33% faster on the highest graphics preset, 'Cinematic', with DLSS set to balanced mode - and considering how heavy the title is even on desktop GPUs, that's definitely a significant boost.
It's also worth noting that the RTX 5090 also has a major advantage in Multi-Frame Generation, as it introduces up to three additional generated frames (per each rendered frame) compared to the original Frame Generation's one generated frame.
With MFG, an RTX 5000 series desktop or laptop GPU is a no-brainer
It's evident that Frame Generation is still frowned upon among some PC gamers: I'm aware of the 'fake frames' nickname, and while that may be true to an extent since the frames are AI-generated, it's not necessarily a bad thing if it provides a strong performance uptick with minimal downsides.
If gamers are lucky enough to own an RTX 5000 series desktop GPU or laptop, then it's fair to suggest that performance in most games will be at acceptable standards. Achieving at least 60fps (frames per second) with the likes of an RTX 5070 isn't difficult (even with the recent awful PC ports), and features like MFG take performance up another notch.
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With a base frame rate of 30fps or slightly below, enabling Frame Generation will indeed increase frame rates, but it comes at the cost of significant input lag and ghosting in-game. However, when the base frame rate is already close to or above 60fps, input lag is reduced, and games feel smooth. Fortunately, the upcoming Reflex 2 feature from Nvidia intends to tackle latency issues.
While it's hard to obtain any RTX 5000 series hardware right now due to low availability and inflated prices (and I wouldn't advise it yet until all major issues are addressed), MFG makes it worthwhile, especially in non-competitive titles. And with new laptops on the way, there will soon be a new avenue for gamers to get their hands on Nvidia’s latest tech.
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Isaiah is a Staff Writer for the Computing channel at TechRadar. He's spent over two years writing about all things tech, specifically games on PC, consoles, and handhelds. He started off at GameRant in 2022 after graduating from Birmingham City University in the same year, before writing at PC Guide which included work on deals articles, reviews, and news on PC products such as GPUs, CPUs, monitors, and more. He spends most of his time finding out about the exciting new features of upcoming GPUs, and is passionate about new game releases on PC, hoping that the ports aren't a complete mess.
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