The RTX 5090 was supposed to be the chosen one, but does the RTX 4090 have the high ground?

Nvidia's RTX 50-series GPUs launched in January, and while the hardware has been tested to no end on the desktop side, we have yet to see how the upcoming laptop equivalents perform. Until now.

Yes, we've got our hands on an RTX 5090 laptop and tested it with multiple games, monitoring its graphical performance across both synthetic and real-world benchmarks.

The question lingering in many gamer's minds is whether or not an RTX 5090 is worth the upgrade, especially after the mixed reception towards the desktop 50-series as a whole.

Let's answer that question with our tests: We've directly compared the RTX 5090 laptop's performance to a machine with an RTX 4090. However, it's good to note that the RTX 5090 laptop is much thinner than the RTX 4090 laptop. While that may not seem like a big deal, it may change thermal efficiency which can similarly impact performance.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let's determine if the RTX 5090 is worth your money by comparing it to last generation's RTX 4090.

How much better is the RTX 5090 laptop when compared to an RTX 4090 laptop?

3DMark Fire Strike Ultra is a DirectX 11 graphics test that determines how well your hardware handles rendering, putting stress upon both the GPU and CPU. On this test, the RTX 5090 laptop received a score of 14,024, while the RTX 4090 laptop was a bit behind with 12,906.

You might have noticed that the difference here isn't particularly breathtaking, and you'd be right. Nvidia has made it no secret that a major focus on the RTX 50-series is on DLSS 4. The RTX 5090 is undeniably stronger than its predecessor, but we would have expected more than just a 1,000 point increase between generations. And unfortunately, this is an issue that persisted in our gaming tests.

We tested seven games on the RTX 5090 laptop: Far Cry 6, Assassin's Creed: Mirage, Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077, Monster Hunter: Wilds, Red Dead Redemption II, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. If you're worried about the RTX 5090's raw performance, don't be, as it did excellently across every game.

However, comparing it to the RTX 4090 led to some mixed results. On one hand, while playing Red Dead Redemption II at 1080p and Ultra graphics, the 5090 crushed the competition, yielding an average of 87 frames per second. This is miles ahead of the RTX 4090 laptop's 61 fps.

But otherwise, the RTX 5090 was outperformed on more than one test, and for the rest, the scores were alarmingly close. We played Assassin's Creed: Mirage at 1080p, and the RTX 4090 laptop soared ahead at 130 fps, while the 5090 landed a bit behind at 120 fps. Far Cry 6 at 1080p told a similar story: The RTX 4090 hit 111 fps, and the 5090 scored 97 fps.

Those are the only two instances where the RTX 5090 is outperformed, but it didn't create as wide of a gap as it did during Red Dead Redemption II. While playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p, the RTX 4090's 164 fps is only a bit behind the RTX 5090's 166 fps. Our experience with Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p is in the same boat, with the RTX 5090's 66 fps only the tiniest bit better than the 4090's 63 fps.

We also tested some new games, which unfortunately weren't out when we reviewed the RTX 4090 laptop in question. On Black Myth: Wukong, the RTX 5090 laptop achieved 58 fps with graphics set to Cinematic and resolution at 1080p. And in Monster Hunter Wilds at 1080p, the laptop averaged 71 fps.

Is an RTX 5090 laptop worth your money?

Yes, the RTX 5090 performs excellently, and you'll have no issue playing demanding AAA titles at high framerates. All of our tests did well at high graphics settings, and while you won't get anywhere near the power of its desktop equivalent, it's still great.

However, comparing the RTX 5090 laptop's performance to an RTX 4090 laptop reveals only a marginal improvement, and in some games, we even saw the RTX 4090 perform better. This could be a result of the RTX 5090 laptop being a thinner machine overall, but for now, our early tests don't look so hot.

We recommend waiting. It could be that further tests of RTX 5090 performance reveal that this was just a poor showing for the GPU, or we could continue to see the same results in future gaming laptops. If so, you're better off with an RTX 4090 laptop.