Acer’s bringing Intel’s new high-powered 11th Gen Tiger Lake chips to its gaming laptops, alongside new mobile RTX 3000 GPU options and a new design for one laptop in particular. New, more budget-friendly RTX 3000 gaming desktops are also joining those mobile options, giving gamers who haven’t been able to try Ampere yet another avenue to buy an RTX 3000 series GPU.
Specs
Predator Triton 500 SE
Predator Helios 500
Predator Orion 3000
Acer Nitro 50
CPU
Up to 11th Gen Intel Core i9 H-series
Up to 11th Gen Intel Core i9 HK-series
11th Gen Intel Core i7
Up to AMD Ryzen 9 5900 or 11th Gen Intel Core i7
GPU
Up to RTX 3080
Up to RTX 3080
RTX 3070
RTX 3060 Ti
Memory
Up to 64GB DDR4-3200
Up to 64GB DDR4-3200
Up to 64GB DDR4-3200
Up to 64GB DDR4-3200
Storage
Up to 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
2x Up to 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs with 1x Up to 2TB SATA HDD
Up to 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe and 3TB HDD
Up to 1TB PCIe NVMe and 3TB HDD
Display
16 inches, 16:10: FHD @ 165 Hz, Mini LED or 165 Hz LCD or 240 Hz IPS
17.3 inches: 4K @ 120 Hz, Mini LED with HDR or FHD @ 360 Hz
N/A
N/A
Starting Price
$1,749
$2,499
$1,199
$949
NA Release Date
June
August
July
July
Acer Predator Triton 500 SE
Aesthetically, the star of the show here is the new Acer Predator Triton 500 SE. This model brings the general look and feel of the silvery Predator Triton 300 SE to a larger laptop. Based on photos Acer shared, the chassis seems to be somewhat darker without being fully black. We praised the Triton 300 SE for its power-to-size ratio, but the new Predator Triton 500 SE is likely to focus more on power.
(Image credit: Acer)
Speaking of power, the Predator Triton 500 SE packs up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i9 H-series processor (so no overclocking), plus up to an RTX 3080 mobile GPU and up to 64GB of 3,200 MHz DDR4 RAM. Storage is all PCIe NVMe and can go up to 4TB, while the 16 inch display embraces the new 16:10 trend with an FHD screen that can reach up to 240 Hz. That high refresh rate is only available on the IPS model, not the 165 Hz LCD and Mini LED models. Acer also hasn’t commented on what type of LCD its LCD screen uses.
Acer Predator Helios 500 Refresh
(Image credit: Acer)
If you want something a little larger and with a very premium display (especially for a laptop), you may want to opt for the refreshed Predator Helios 500. We got to spend some time with a configuration of the Acer Predator Helios 500, and what stood out most for us was its Mini LED display option. You can read about our experience in our Acer Predator Helios 500 hands-on article.
But long story short, this model maintains the same look as the current Predator Helios 500, but upgrades the internals to bring them up to line with Intel and Nvidia’s latest offerings: up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i9 HK series (overclocking is a go!) CPU with up to an RTX 3080 mobile GPU.
Besides Mini LED, you can also get the laptop with a FHD panel with your typical LED backlight and a 360 Hz refresh rate, the fastest refresh rate displays carry these days.
New Acer Predator Gaming Desktops
(Image credit: Acer)
Acer’s new attempts at the best gaming PCs in desktop form are a bit more constrained. The Predator Orion 3000 is limited to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 with an RTX 3070 but does let you customize your storage and memory capacities. The former maxes out at up to 1TB of PCIe NVMe storage with up to 3TB of HDD storage supplementing it, while the latter can go up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 RAM.
(Image credit: Acer)
The Acer Nitro 50 series carries the sole AMD gaming machine (the N50-120) Acer announced today, as well as an Intel model (the N50-620).
The AMD model has up to AMD Ryzen 9 5900, while the Intel model has up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU. Either way, you’ll get an RTX 3060 Ti for your GPU. Storage and memory options are the same as what’s available on the Predator Orion 3000.
Prices and Release Dates
The Predator Triton 500 SE will be the first of these laptops to hit U.S. store shelves. It launches today at Best Buy (and in June everywhere else) for a starting price of $1,749. The desktops will both follow in July, with the Predator Orion 3000 starting at $1,199 and the Intel Nitro 50 model starting at $949.
Finally, the Predator Helios 500 will launch in August for a starting price of $2,499.
We don’t yet have a release date or starting price for the Nitro 50 AMD model.
It’s been a couple of years now since Acer overhauled its big-screen Helios 500 desktop replacement rig. But the laptop is back in a 17-inch shell that’s a bit of a departure from
the 2018 model
. As expected, it brings current top-end 11th Gen Intel/Nvidia components, plus perhaps more RGB than I’ve ever seen on a portable PC. Aside from the per-key RGB keyboard, there are light bars that run along all four edges of the laptop (yes, even the back). And the light show can be set to dynamically react to sound playing from the system’s speakers, or even what’s on the screen.
Acer sent us a pre-production sample in the days before its announcement to get some hands-on time with the new gaming flagship. Sadly, one of the most intriguing options of the new laptop wasn’t included in the sample they shipped. There will be an optional Mini LED 4K panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate and full-array local dimming, which Acer says is “comparable to VESA Display HDR 1000.” If you’re a top-end competitive gamer, the crazy-fast 360 Hz 1080p screen that came with our unit is undoubtedly the better option. But my slow reflexes and HDR-happy eyeballs would love to see what a bright, pixel-dense display with 512 backlight zones looks like on a laptop.
Design of the Acer Predator Helios 500 (2021)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
First off, Acer would probably like me to reiterate that what it sent us was a pre-production unit, and some things will change. For instance, the Predator logo on the lid will be RGB-lit, rather than the basic blue seen here. And while the light bar at the back will remain, there are lights in the rear exhaust that will go away (which is good because they’re very bright). Also, as this was a pre-production unit, we were not allowed to test performance or battery life. The laptop is expected to arrive in August, with a starting price of $2,499.
Also note that, as this is a configuration with both a Core i9-11980HK and an Nvidia RTX 3080, the laptop does ship with two large power bricks. You’ll want to keep both plugged in for long gaming sessions, but with the system asleep or while doing basic productivity, one brick was more than enough to keep the laptop charged.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
If you’re expecting something approaching a thin-and-light gaming experience, you should look elsewhere (and expect less performance). At 8.59 pounds and approximately 12.6 x 15.75 x 1.75 inches, the Helios 500 is unapologetically a high-end desktop replacement.
And the black metal shell with silver and blue accents back up the ‘gaming’ looks–accented nicely by the blue-metal heatsinks that can be seen from the rear sides and back of the laptop.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
As noted earlier, the stand-out visual element here is the sheer abundance of RGB, in the form of diffused light bars that run along most of the front, about two-thirds of both sides, and nearly the entire back edge. The Helios 500 is a light show in a box, if ever there was one.
And if you’re into light shows, the laptop makes good use of all the RGB here. Aside from being able to choose from the usual number of presets or individually select the color of each key, the company’s PredatorSense software’s Pulsar Lighting tab has an Interactive section, which lets you set the keyboard and bars to react to audio being piped through the laptop. You can choose between four presets for this, and there’s also a Screen Sync feature that tends to mimic what’s on the lower portion of the screen.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Screen Sync option is a bit crude. For instance, when I went to YouTube and an ad for YouTube Premium popped up in the bottom-left corner, the keys below it turned red and a purplish-white, mirroring the ad. But when watching trailers (and ads) for action movies, the flashing keys echoing gunshots did add something to the effect–I’m just not sure it’s something I like.
Having the lights and keyboard echoing what’s on the screen is distracting when you’re trying to watch a TV show or movie, but it could add to the level of immersion when gaming in the dark. And for music, the light show that the Helios 500 kicks out is almost like a party in and of itself. That said, I was not impressed with the sound output of the laptop, at least for music.
Acer bills the Helios 500 as having “True 5.1 channel surround sound” with a subwoofer, and licensed DTS X software is included for audio tweaking. But out of the box, highs and mids sounded harsh, while lows were minimized and there was little in the way of bass, especially for a laptop that literally says Subwoofer on the bottom. To be fair, this audio may be pre-tweaked for gaming, bringing key strategic elements up in the mix, but it certainly doesn’t make music sound good.
It’s possible that audio will improve with final units, but a few minutes playing with the various DTS presets, first choosing the music preset and then fiddling with the manual EQ, didn’t yield the kind of pleasing sound output I’d like from a laptop this big and expensive.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Unlike the version of the Helios 500 we looked at back in 2018, there are no ports on the back, save for the power connections. The left edge has a pair of tightly packed Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, as well as a USB 3 Type-A, a full-size HDMI port, and an anachronistic Mini Displayport.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The right edge houses separate headphone and mic jacks, two more USB 3 Type-A ports, and a Killer Ethernet E3100G jack. Wi-Fi 6 is also included. Note that Acer has yet to provide us with full specs, so we are unsure of the exact port speeds/specs.
Display on the Acer Predator Helios 500 (2021)
We weren’t able to test the 1080p 360 Hz display (or any other aspect) of our pre-production sample. But elite gamers will no-doubt appreciate the speed. And in casual use and gaming, we didn’t find it to be particularly dull or dim. Acer says it will also offer a 2560 x 1440 display option with a 165 Hz refresh rate.
But the most interesting screen option will be the 3840 x 2160 (4K) IPS screen that supports 120 Hz refresh and has a Mini LED matrix, giving it 512 backlight zones, plus what should be high-brightness HDR support. In short, that should be one dynamic display, with bright lights and dark blacks, which should be great for both AAA gaming and movies. But we’ll have to await a final review unit to say for sure. And we’re very curious to hear how much that panel adds to the laptop’s cost.
Keyboard and Touchpad of the Acer Predator Helios 500 (2021)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The input devices on the Acer Predator Helios 500 are nothing if not colorful and roomy. With nearly 16 inches of width to play with, the keys are reasonably large, with lots of separation between them. And aside from the per-key backlighting, there’s also an RGB ring that runs around the touchpad, which is about 4.8 inches on the diagonal.
There’s also plenty of travel, in both the keys and touchpad buttons, likely thanks in part to the fact that Acer clearly wasn’t aiming for slimness here. And the WASD keys, apart from being visually offset in translucent blue, also have a stiffer feel than the surrounding keys, helping your fingers find them in the event that you were grabbing a snack and suddenly find yourself in the heat of battle.
All that said, personally I’ve never been a huge fan of these kind of flat keycaps on a gaming keyboard, and the white edges of the keys, while they help the RGB lighting shine through, look a bit garish in the daylight, against the darkness of the rest of the laptop’s design. I really hope more laptop makers shift back to offering mechanical switch options,
like Alienware has recently
.
Gaming on the Acer Predator Helios 500 (2021)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With the limited time I had with the new Acer Predator Helios 500, I didn’t have the luxury of long nights lost in raids and quests. But I did take the laptop through a few rounds of Doom Eternal and the decidedly less-demanding strategy title, Becastled. At the high frame rates that come with an RTX 3080 and an Intel Core i9 on a 1080p display, the 360 Hz screen was buttery smooth, and I found the roomy keyboard a bit more enjoyable for executing the games sometimes complicated jumps that I did for typing.
And while the cartoonish graphics of Becastled weren’t quite as colorful on the Helios’ display as they are on the Sony HDR TV that I use as my primary monitor, things didn’t exactly look dull eiter. Again, I’d love to see what these games (and frankly everything else) would look like on the 4K, 120 Hz HDR display option with localized dimming. And I’m curious to hear how much that screen will add to the price of the laptop.
As far as cooling goes, the Acer Predator Helios 500 was far from silent under load, but we wouldn’t expect that given its pairing of top-end components. But it also didn’t get overtly loud either. And the fans didn’t often fluctuate up and down, which can be more noticeable than a higher-decibel, but more constant whir. We’d need more time with the laptop (and the ability to test temps) to pass final judgement on the cooling system here, but nothing stood out as problematic or bad on that front, not that the laptop was quieter than we’d expect, either.
Final Thoughts
Given that every gaming laptop maker is using the same current core high-end components (though there is more more variety these days, with AMD’s CPUs more in the mix), and those parts have the same thermal requirements, there are only so many ways for a high-end gaming laptop to stand out.
Acer makes an attempt here by tossing in extra RGBs so that the Predator Helios 500 is as much a light show as it is a gaming powerhouse. It also doesn’t look or feel cheap or flimsy, as we’ve seem from some gaming portables in the past, when the aim was to keep costs as low as possible, or keep the chassis as slim as can be.
But really this Predator’s most striking trick might just be its Mini LED 4K display with full-array local dimming and 120 Hz refresh. Sadly, we’ll have to wait for a final version to get our eyes on that impressive-sounding display. The 360 Hz 1080p panel in our sample is certainly impressive in its own right, but its wow factor isn’t apparent unless you spend your time with highly competitive esports titles.
There’s a new Acer Predator in town: the 16-inch Predator Triton 500 SE. It has a new subtle design with a touch of RGB as well as the latest chips from Intel and Nvidia. It also has a feature that I am much too excited about: a 16:10 display.
Put this next to the previous Triton 500, and this device looks much more like something you might bring to a meeting or a lecture. It’s not quite as flashy. The last model’s glowing Triton logo has been removed from the center of the lid and squeezed into the top-right corner. The previous Triton also had “Predator” printed along the large bottom bezel, which has been replaced by a smaller and subtler Triton logo as well. The corners are sharper, the keyboard is a bit blacker — it’s a more modern, professional look.
No more logo in the center.
The biggest thing you’ll probably notice, though, is that the laptop is taller. The new 16-inch 16:10 display affords extra vertical space compared to the 15.6-inch 16:9 display on the previous Triton. I got to spend a bit of time with a pre-production unit of the Triton 500 SE, and I’m going to have trouble going back to a 13-inch 16:9. This is one of the roomiest displays I’ve ever used. I had no trouble stacking 2-3 tabs and apps alongside each other and jumping in between them. I never had to zoom out of anything.
There are three panel options: a 165Hz LCD panel, a 165Hz Mini LED panel, or a 240Hz IPS PolarBlack panel (which Acer says will cover 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut). All the screens have 2560 x 1600 resolution. Mini LED, which also powers the screen of Apple’s latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, is unusual to see on laptops. It’s designed to emulate the look of an OLED screen on an LCD panel, and it can produce excellent contrast.
The Triton has new chips as well; it’s configurable with up to an 11th-Gen Intel Core i9 processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU. (Acer hasn’t shared the clock speeds and graphics power you can expect from these chips yet, so I look forward to digging those up during the review process.) It also provides more ambitious specs for power users than previous Tritons, supporting up to a whopping 64GB of memory and 4TB of storage. (Last year’s Triton 500 maxed out at 32GB and 2TB, respectively.)
It’s a roomy screen.
The Triton 500 SE has pretty much every port you might need, including two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one on each side, in addition to two USB 3.2 Gen 2, one HDMI 2.1, one 3.5mm audio jack, one SD card reader, an ethernet port, and a DC-in for power. One of the USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports supports power-off USB charging as well.
There’s a fingerprint in the top-left corner of the touchpad. The webcam in the top bezel actually didn’t look too terrible in my testing and produced a viewable picture in low-light conditions. It doesn’t support Windows Hello, though.
Finally, Acer is also very excited about the new cooling system, which features what it refers to as its “5th-Gen Aeroblade 3D fan” in a triple-fan system with five heat pipes. Acer says this will provide up to 10 percent better airflow than the previous Triton 500. We’ll have more specific metrics once we’ve been able to write a full review of this device; my first impression is that the fans were often audible on this pre-production unit, but I never felt an uncomfortable amount of heat and never saw the CPU get anywhere close to a worrying temperature.
Power port, Ethernet, USB-A, USB-C, audio jack on the left.
I really like the keyboard, it’s nice and clicky.
You can make various fun effects with the per-key RGB keys.
HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, SD slot, and a lock slot on the right.
Altogether, a fun machine to use — but we’ll have to wait for the full review before making a recommendation.
The Predator Triton 500 SE will be available in North America in June, starting at $1,749.99. The base configuration that Best Buy will be selling for that price includes a Core i7-11800H, a GeForce RTX 3060, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and the 165Hz LCD display.
Acer also announced an updated version of its bulkier, pricier, and high-performance Predator Helios 500, which also has new 11th-Gen processors and Nvidia 3000-series GPUs. This laptop can come with a 4K Mini LED 120Hz display or an FHD 360Hz display. The Helios can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM as well. That model is coming to North America in August starting at $2,499.99.
The Vengeance RGB Pro SL DDR4-3600 C18 is a great memory kit for AMD owners that don’t have the luxury of a lot of clearance space under their CPU air coolers.
For
+ Great performance on AMD platforms
+ Competitive pricing
+ Only 44.8mm tall
Against
– Disappointing overclocking headroom
– Poor performance on Intel platforms
Products don’t always go through modifications because there’s a defect; sometimes manufacturers revamp successful products because they see an opportunity for improvement. That was probably the idea behind Corsair’s reworking of its thriving Vengeance RGB Pro memory, which already holds a spot on our Best RAM list. For those that aren’t fans of the brand, the Vengeance RGB Pro SL will look like a brand piece of memory, but Corsair aficionados, on the other hand, will likely spot the differences right off the bat.
The Vengeance RGB Pro SL retains a similar design as the normal Vengeance RGB Pro. The memory modules still feature a black PCB with a matching black, anodized aluminum heat spreader. The small aesthetic changes include the small triangle cutouts and a different selection of logos.
The biggest difference between the SL and non-SL versions is the height. The original Vengeance RGB Pro memory modules are 51mm (2 inches) tall, while the SL variant checks in at 44.8mm (1.76 inches) tall. Corsair basically reduced the height by 12.2%, which should be sufficient to make the Vengeance RGB Pro SL fit under the most CPU air coolers and compact cases.
Despite the height reduction, the RGB diffuser remains intact on the Vengeance RGB Pro SL. There are 10 individually addressable onboard RGB LEDs inside the diffuser to provide bright and vibrant lighting. You’ll have to use Corsair’s iCUE software to take full advantage of the Vengeance RGB Pro SL’s illumination, which means installing another piece of software on your system.
The Vengeance RGB Pro SL consists of an eight-layer custom PCB with Samsung K4A8G085WB-BCPB (B-die) integrated circuits (ICs). The memory kit is comprised of a pair of 8GB memory modules with a single-rank design.
Out of the box, the memory operates at DDR4-2666 with dull primary timings fixed at 18-18-18-43. The Vengeance RGB Pro SL has a single XMP profile for DDR4-3600, so you can’t really go wrong. It configures the timings to 18-22-22-42 and the DRAM voltage up to 1.35V. For more on timings and frequency considerations, see our PC Memory 101 feature, as well as our How to Shop for RAM story.
Comparison Hardware
Memory Kit
Part Number
Capacity
Data Rate
Primary Timings
Voltage
Warranty
G.Skill Trident Z Neo
F4-3600C14D-16GTZNB
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
Adata XPG Spectrix D60G
AX4U360038G14C-DT60
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
TeamGroup T-Force Xtreem ARGB
TF10D416G3600HC14CDC01
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
14-15-15-35 (2T)
1.45 Volts
Lifetime
Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory
GP-AR36C18S8K2HU416R
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-19-19-39 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
HP V8
7EH92AA#ABM x 2
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-20-20-40 (2T)
1.35 Volts
5 Years
Adata XPG Spectrix D50
AX4U360038G18A-DT50
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-20-20-42 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
Predator Talos
BL.9BWWR.215
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-20-20-42 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL
CMH16GX4M2Z3600C18
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-22-22-42 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
GeIL Orion AMD Edition
GAOR416GB3600C18BDC
2 x 8GB
DDR4-3600 (XMP)
18-22-22-42 (2T)
1.35 Volts
Lifetime
Our Intel test system consists of an Intel Core i9-10900K and Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex on the 0901 firmware. On the opposite end, the AMD testbed for RAM benchmarks leverages an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master with the F13e firmware. The MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio handles the gaming workloads on both platforms.
Intel Performance
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The Vengeance RGB Pro SL placed at the bottom of the charts on our Intel platform. The memory’s strongest showing came in the 7-Zip compression workload, where it ranked second and outperformed the slowest memory kit by up to 7.3%. As for gaming performance, the Vengeance RGB Pro SL’s standing didn’t change.
AMD Performance
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The competition was tight on the AMD platform. Nevertheless, the Vengeance RGB Pro SL outperformed some of the faster rivals and came in at the second position on the performance charts. Once again, the memory performed the best in 7-Zip compression, beating the slowest memory kit by up to 6.8%.
Despite employing Samsung B-die ICs, the Vengeance RGB Pro SL doesn’t have any fuel left in the tank. Increasing the DRAM voltage to 1.45V only got us to DDR4-3866, and we also had to sacrifice timings to get there. The memory wasn’t stable with any value below 19-22-22-40.
Lowest Stable Timings
Memory Kit
DDR4-3600 (1.45V)
DDR4-3733 (1.45V)
DDR4-3866 (1.45v)
DDR4-3900 (1.45V)
DDR4-4000 (1.45V)
DDR4-4133 (1.45V)
DDR4-4200 (1.45V)
G.Skill Trident Z Neo
13-16-16-36 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
19-19-19-39 (2T)
Adata XPG Spectrix D60G
13-15-15-35 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
20-19-19-39 (2T)
Team Group T-Force Xtreem ARGB
13-14-14-35 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
19-19-19-39 (2T)
HP V8
14-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
18-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
Adata XPG Spectrix D50
14-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
18-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
N/A
Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory
16-19-19-39 (2T)
N/A
N/A
20-20-20-40 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL
16-20-20-40 (2t)
N/A
19-22-22-40
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
GeIL Orion AMD Edition
16-20-20-40 (2T)
19-22-22-42 (2T)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
The Vengeance RGB Pro SL’s default XMP timings are 18-22-22-42 at 1.35V. A small voltage bump up to 1.45V allowed the memory to run at 16-20-20-40, making it a lot more attractive.
Bottom Line
Corsair markets the RAM as having a compact form factor. It’s shorter than the previous revision, but it’s not exactly considered low-profile, either. Even at 44.8mm, the memory shouldn’t cause any conflicts with CPU air coolers, but it wouldn’t hurt to measure the clearance space before picking up the Vengeance RGB Pro SL if you have an overly large cooler.
You shouldn’t have any qualms with the Vengeance RGB Pro SL’s design as the memory looks good, just like its predecessors. Performance, however, is another case. Evidently, the Vengeance RGB Pro SL performs better on AMD systems than Intel systems, so that’s one point to take into account. The Vengeance RGB Pro SL DDR4-3600 C18 retails for $109.99, and it’s not a bad price considering there are equal or slower competitors out there that cost more than Corsair’s kit.
After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to make up some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its Ryzen 9 5900X AMD rival in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-I Gaming WiFi is a compact power house featuring a robust 10-phase VRM with top of the line power stages and a substantial VRM cooling solution. BIOS flashback has also been included, as well as ASUS’s excellent BIOS designed to provide an optimal, stress-free overclocking experience. The ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-I Gaming WiFi also offers great connectivity with WiFi 6, 2.5 Gb/s Ethernet, and Thunderbolt 4. All of this performance is packed into an ITX form factor with some clever engineering to make it all fit.
Let’s take a closer look at what the ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-I Gaming WiFi has to offer.
1x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB Type-C® port 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C® port 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 port 4x USB 2.0 ports 1x HDMI™ port 1x ASUS Wi-Fi module 1x Intel® I225-V 2.5 Gb Ethernet 3x Gold-plated audio jacks 1x BIOS FlashBack™ button
HP has recently announced the first Radeon RX 6000M-powered laptop, the Omen 16 2021. Aside from being the first laptop with a Radeon RX 6000M GPU, it is also the first 16-inch Omen laptop.
The HP Omen 16 laptop will come with up to an Intel Core i7-11800H processor or 8-core AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX. As for memory and storage, it can feature up to 32GB of DDR4-3200 and up to 1TB PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD or up to two 1TB PCIe SSDs in Raid 0, respectively.
The other GPU options are from Nvidia and can go up to an RTX 3070. Taking the RTX 3070 laptop GPU performance into account, we expect to see a similar option from AMD, which would most likely be the RX 6700M.
Alongside the Omen 16, HP also announced a few other laptops. One of them is the new Omen 17, which has been revamped to feature up to an RTX 3080 16GB laptop GPU and up to an Intel Core i9-11900H CPU. The other one belongs to HP new sub-brand called Victus. Designed as an entry-level gaming laptop, it will come with up to an RTX 3060 6GB or Radeon RX 5500M and up to Core i7-11800H or Ryzen 7 5800H.
The announcement didn’t include only laptops. HP introduced the new Omen 25i gaming monitor featuring an 8-bit FHD IPS panel with 165Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility, VESA DisplayHDR 400, and DCI-P3 90% coverage. Moreover, it also revealed a new add-on for the Omen Gaming Hub called Omen Oasis, which allows up to 16-person calls and streams.
KitGuru says: If you’re looking for a new gaming laptop, it might be worth waiting a little bit longer as Radeon RX 6000M laptop GPUs are finally starting to roll out.
Today we are back with another extensive performance analysis, as we check out the recently-released Days Gone. As the latest formerly PlayStation-exclusive title to come to the PC, we test thirty graphics cards in this game to find out exactly what sort of GPU you need to play at maximum image quality settings. Has this game launched in a better state than when Horizon Zero Dawn first came to PC? Let’s find out.
Watch via our Vimeo channel (below) or over on YouTube at 2160p HERE
The first thing to know about Days Gone is that it is developed by Sony’s Bend Studio, and is built on Unreal Engine 4. Interestingly though, it uses DirectX 11, and there’s no option for DX12. That means there’s no ray tracing or DLSS features in Days Gone, something which is becoming more unusual these days.
In terms of visual settings, there are a number of options in the display menu. Textures, lighting, shadows and more can all be adjusted, while it’s great to see a field of view (FOV) slider as well as a render scale setting. There’s also a selection of quick presets – Low, Medium, High and Very High – and for our benchmarking today we opted for the Very High preset, with V-Sync of course disabled.
Driver Notes
AMD GPUs were benchmarked with the 21.5.2 driver.
Nvidia GPUs were benchmarked with the 466.47 driver.
Test System
We test using the a custom built system from PCSpecialist, based on Intel’s Comet Lake-S platform. You can read more about it over HERE, and configure your own system from PCSpecialist HERE.
CPU
Intel Core i9-10900K
Overclocked to 5.1GHz on all cores
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero Wi-Fi
Memory
Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600MHz (4 X 8GB)
CL 18-22-22-42
Graphics Card
Varies
System Drive
500GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2
Games Drive
2TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5″ SSD
Chassis
Fractal Meshify S2 Blackout Tempered Glass
CPU Cooler
Corsair H115i RGB Platinum Hydro Series
Power Supply
Corsair 1200W HX Series Modular 80 Plus Platinum
Operating System
Windows 10 2004
Our 1-minute benchmark pass came from quite early on in the game, as Deacon is riding on the back of Boozer’s motorbike, headed to Crazy Willie’s. This represents a reasonably demanding section of the game based on the first hour or so that I played through, and it is also highly repeatable which makes it great for benchmarking multiple GPUs.
1080p Benchmarks
1440p Benchmarks
2160p (4K) Benchmarks
Closing Thoughts
By and large, Days Gone is an impressive PC port that almost everyone will be happy with. I say almost everyone, as currently my main issue with the game is related to visible stuttering when using an RDNA 2 GPU. This didn’t happen for other AMD cards though, or Nvidia GPUs, so hopefully it is a quick fix for AMD’s driver team or the game’s developers.
As a DX11 title built on Unreal Engine 4, if we had to guess before testing the game, we would’ve thought Nvidia GPUs would perform the best, and that is certainly true. RTX 2070 Super is significantly faster than the RX 5700 XT, for example, while RTX 3070 also beats out the RX 6800 across the board, which isn’t something we usually see.
Even then, the game does run well across a wide variety of hardware. GTX 1060 and RX 580, for instance, aren’t far off from hitting 60FPS at 1080p with maximum image quality settings, with just a few small tweaks to the IQ needed to hit that figure. VRAM doesn’t appear to be in high demand either, with both the 4GB and 8GB versions of the RX 5500 XT performing almost identically.
If you do want to drop down some image quality settings, the game’s options scale well. We found that the High preset offered 35% more performance than Very High (which is more than enough to get a GTX 1060 averaging over 60FPS at 1080p), while you can almost double frame rates using the Low preset when compared to Very High.
The only other issue I noticed is what appears to be an animation hitching problem in the game, which is particularly noticeable when riding a motorbike – the game feels like it is slowing down but then correcting itself by speeding up again. This wasn’t a game breaker for me but it was most noticeable when frame rates were below 60FPS – the higher the frame rate, the less I noticed the issue.
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KitGuru says: Days Gone is definitely in a better state at launch than what we saw when Horizon Zero Dawn hit PCs in 2020. There’s a couple of issues to be fixed, but by and large this game performs well across a good range of graphics cards.
For those looking for the best motherboard for a compact Rocket Lake build, we’ll be diving deep here to examine and test three Mini-ITX motherboards based on Intel’s latest mainstream chipset, Z590. We’ll take a close look at the ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 (~$350), Asus ROG Strix Z590-I Gaming WiFi ($369.99), and the Gigabyte Z590I Aorus Ultra ($321.49). We couldn’t get our hands on the MSI Z590I Unify Gaming ($369.99) in time for this article, but we expect that board to arrive in the coming weeks and post a review when we can.
When you’re shopping for a Mini-ITX motherboard (see more on motherboard form factors here), chances are the case you use is going to be compact as well. This means limited CPU cooling options and, due to the size of the board, fewer Memory and PCIe slots and M.2 sockets. That said, these tiny builds can be portable powerhouses when done right. But you need to have solid power delivery and cooling and pick the right ITX board for your needs, as using an add-in card (beyond the GPU) to supplement any missing ports isn’t possible. We’ll take a detailed look at the three boards we have and see which is the best option overall.
In our testing, all boards performed well, easily mixing in with our other test results, including full-size and more-expensive options. Out of the box, the ASRock board is the most hamstrung by Intel’s power limits, while the other boards tend to run a bit more free in comparison. But all you need to do to get the ASRock up to par with the other boards is to raise its power limits. The performance difference was negligible outside of the long-running tests, where the turbo time/limits come into play. Gaming performance was similar among all the boards, as was memory bandwidth and latency testing. Outside of a couple of outliers, all boards performed similarly, especially when the playing field was leveled by removing the stock limits.
All three of our Mini-ITX boards include two DRAM slots, a single PCIe slot, two M.2 sockets, 2.5 GbE and Wi-Fi. The difference between these boards boils down to appearance, Wi-Fi speeds, audio codec, SATA port count, power delivery capability, rear IO port type/count and price. We’ll dig into the features and other details on each board below, starting with the ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4. Below are the specifications from ASRock.
Along with the motherboard, the ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 box includes a slim collection of accessories, though there’s enough to get you started. Below is a complete list of all included extras.
Support CD / Quick installation Guide
Wi-Fi Antenna
(2) SATA cables
(2) Screw package for M.2 sockets
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After we took this little guy out of the box, we see a densely packed Mini-ITX board that comes with almost all of the features typically found on a full-size motherboard. The ITX/TB4 sports a matte-black PCB, along with a heatpipe-connected heatsink for the VRM. You can spot the Phantom Gaming theme easily, with branding located above vent holes on the rear IO as well as the chipset/M.2 heatsink, just above the PCIe slot. On the RGB LED front, the Z590 PG-ITX/TB4 has three LEDs on the underside of the board, behind the PCIe slot. ASRock’s Polychrome Sync application controls the lighting. Overall, I like the board’s appearance. It’s is improved over the last generation and won’t have any issues fitting in with most build themes.
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Typically when discussing motherboards, they’re split into the top half and bottom half. But since these boards are so small, we’ll work in a clockwise motion starting on the left with the IO cover. Here we see the metal cover hiding all of the rear IO bits, as well as a small fan designed to dissipate heat. The top and the rear IO plate have holes in them to circulate the air from the fan.
Across the top of the motherboard is the 8-pin EPS connector (required) to power the CPU. Just to the right is a 3-pin ARGB header and three 4-pin fan headers. The CPU and Chassis fan headers support 1A/12W, while the CPU_Opt/Water pump connector doubles that to 2A/24W. ASRock states the CPU_OPT/W_Pump header auto-detects if a 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use. I would like to see all of the fan/pump headers auto-detect what’s attached.
Moving past the VRMs to the right side of the board, there are several headers, ports and slots. Starting with the two unreinforced DRAM slots, support is listed to 64GB with speeds up to 4266+(OC). Surprisingly this is lower than many ATX size boards (typically, these smaller boards offer better RAM clocking capabilities) and lower than the other two boards in this roundup. That said, the ASRock board ran our DDR4 4000 sticks with minimal adjustments (that same VccIO Memory +0.10 for the ASRock board we looked at previously), so for the majority of users, the limit (on paper) won’t be an issue.
On the right edge, from top to bottom, is the 24-pin ATX connector for board power, front panel header and 4-pin RGB header, USB 3.2 Gen 1 header, three SATA ports (supports RAID0, 1, 5 and 10), and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C header. Above the 24-pin ATX are the debug LEDs that tell you where the board got hung up in the POST process. Since there isn’t any room for the 2-character LED that provides you more detailed information, this is a good value-add for troubleshooting.
On the bottom of the board is the single reinforced (ASRock Steel Slot) PCIe slot with extra anchors, a better latch, and signal stability improvements (according to the company). The slot runs the full PCIe 4.0 x16 bandwidth when using an 11th generation CPU. Located above the slot is a USB 2.0 header and the front-panel audio header.
The bottom-left corner holds the audio bits. Visible are a couple of audio capacitors (in yellow) while the Realtek ALC1220 hides the IO cover. While this is a premium audio chip, it’s last generation’s flagship; I would like to have seen the newest codec used as we see on the Asus. That said, this solution will still be sufficient for most users.
Just above this slot is a dual-purpose heatsink designed to keep the southbridge chip and an M.2 module cool. Simply unscrew the two visible screws and it exposes the PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) M.2 socket. The second M.2 socket sits on the back of the board, supports both PCIe and SATA-based modules, and does not have a heatsink on it. Both sockets support 80mm drives. The M.2 sockets support RAID0 and 1. The manual doesn’t list any lane sharing, which makes sense considering the three SATA ports here, when the chipset provides six natively.
(Image credit: ASRock)
ASRock chose an 8-phase configuration for Vcore on this little board. You won’t find any VRM doublers as in this direct setup. Power flows from the 8-pin EPS to a Renesas ISL69269 12-channel (X+Y+Z=12) controller, then on to the 90A ISL99390 Smart Power Stages. The 720A available for the CPU is enough for stock operation and even overclocking our Core i9-11900K processor (with ambient cooling).
Typically we list all of the buttons and headers along the bottom of the board, but due to the Mini-ITX design, we covered this already during the motherboard tour above.
(Image credit: ASRock)
Taking a look at the integrated rear IO plate, we see it sports the same styling found on the Z490 version: primarily a grey-and-black background with some red highlights matching the Phantom Gaming theme. From left to right are the DisplayPort (v1.4) and HDMI (v2.0) ports for use when working off the integrated GRAPHICS in your CPU. Next are four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports and a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port and one ultra-fast Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps) Type-C port. In blue is the Killer E3100G LAN port and a small Clear CMOS button. In the middle, we see holes for venting air from the hidden fan (which is inaudible, by the way), the Wi-Fi 6E antenna mounts and the 5-plug + SPDIF audio stack.
Firmware
The BIOS theme in the Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 matches the Z590 PG Velocita we recently reviewed, sporting a black/red theme. As usual, we capture a majority of the BIOS screens to share with you. ASRock includes an Easy Mode for high-level monitoring and adjustments, along with an Advanced section. The BIOS is organized well, with many of the more commonly used functions accessible without drilling down multiple levels to find them. Here you adjust the Memory, Voltage, and CPU details in separate sections, but it’s all on the first page of each section. In the end, the BIOS worked well and was easy to navigate and read.
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Software
On the software side, ASRock includes a few utilities that cover overclocking and monitoring (PG-Tuning), audio (Nahimic 3), software for updating drivers and downloading applications (App Shop), and of course, RGB control (Polychrome RGB). We did not run into any issues in our limited use of the applications.
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Before we get to the performance for this board and its competitors, we’ll detail the other two models as well. Next up is the Asus ROG Strix Z590-I Gaming WiFi.
HP is revitalizing its Omen gaming notebooks with a new 16.1-inch size, the latest processors and a new sub-brand called Victus. All of the laptops announced today are scheduled to release next month.
The new laptop competing with the 16.1-inch display is the HP Omen 16, which is very close in size to the older 15-inch model, due to thinner bezels on the top and sides.
Competing for a spot on our
Best Gaming Laptop
list, versions of the Omen 16 with Intel processors will start at $1,149.99, while AMD options will begin at $1,049.99. The machine will go up to 115W with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU (HP also mentions “next-gen” AMD graphics). You will be able to configure it with up to a 1TB
PCIe
Gen 4×4
SSD
, Wi-Fi 6E networking options and an 83WHr battery. The 16-inch screen will go up to
1440p
resolution (2560 x 1440) resolution with a 165 Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time.
Specifications
HP Omen 16
HP Omen 17
HP Victus 16
CPU
Up to Intel Core i7-11800H or AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
Up to Intel Core i9-11900H
Up to Intel Core i7-11800H or AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
GPU
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, “next-gen” AMD GPUs
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060, AMD Radeon RX 5500M
RAM
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Up to 32GB DDR4-3200
Not specified
Storage
Up to 1TB PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD (Intel) / Up to 1TB PCIe Gen 3×4 SSD (AMD)
Up to 1TB PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD
Up to 1TB PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD
Display
16.1-inch, 2560 x 1440
17.3-inch, 2560 x 1440
16-inch, up to 2560 x 1440
Networking
Up to Wi-Fi 6E
Up to Wi-Fi 6E
Not specified
Availability
June 2021
June 2021
June 2021
Starting Price
$1,049.99 (AMD), $1,149.99 (Intel)
$1,369.99
$799.99 (AMD), $849.99 (Intel)
The Omen 17 desktop replacement is also getting a refresh, but only with Intel. It will start at $1,369.99 and be slightly smaller than the previous 17-inch Omen, including 2.9mm thinner and 15% lighter. With an improved cooler at more outlets for air, HP claims the keyboard will be 5 degrees Celsius cooler than the older model.
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The bigger laptop will have a keyboard optical mechanical switches featuring 1.7mm of travel and per-key RGB lighting. There will be a specialized panel to easily access the SSD and RAM for upgrades. HP is offering up to 1TB PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD or 2 1TB PCIe M.2 SSDs in RAID0. The 17-inch screen will go up to QHD with a 165 Hz IPS panel.
Meet Victus
The new Victus brand is meant to put a focus on performance and graphics at a cheaper price. HP has literally sliced part of the logo out of the Omen mark to show its place in the lineup. As of this announcement, there’s just one Victus laptop, the HP Victus 16. It features the “V” logo, has similar design elements, like the screen size marked on the chassis, and comes in mica silver, performance blue or ceramic white.
Like the 16.1-inch Omen, the Victus’ 16-inch screen will fit in a near 14-inch chassis, thanks to thin bezels on three sides. Its V-patterned speakers, turned by B&O, bear a striking resemblance to HP’s Spectre ultraportables.
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Besides offering both Intel and AMD processors, there will also be configurations up to Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060 graphics or AMD Radeon RX 5500M. The IPS display goes up to 2560 x 1440 and 165 Hz.
It appears that Victus won’t take over the extreme low-end. HP said that Pavilion Gaming isn’t going away, which suggests we’ll still see the Pavilion name on entry-level laptops.
After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD’s Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel’s last bastion of superiority.
Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to make up some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its Ryzen 9 5900X AMD rival in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year’s Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.
First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 from the chipset. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel’s Z series platform has feature parity with AMD’s B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.
The BIOSTAR Z590 Valkyrie features a massive VRM featuring 90 A top of the line power stages. BIOS flashback has also been included, as well as a dual BIOS. Along with the heavy-duty VRM design, the BIOSTAR Z590 Valkyrie features a unique aesthetic of black and gold, 2.5 Gb/s LAN from Realtek, and more. Let’s take a closer look at what the BIOSTAR Z590 Valkyrie has to offer!
2x WIFI antenna ports 1x PS/2 keyboard / mouse port 1x HDMI Port (HDMI2.0) 1x DP Port (DP1.4) 1x USB 3.2 (Gen2x2) Type-C port 5x USB 3.2 (Gen2) ports 2x USB 3.2 (Gen1) ports 1x 2.5 GbE LAN port 5x Audio jack 1x SPDIF Out
Intel is starting to get its legs again. The company, which initially had issues with its 10nm chips, has released its first eight-core, 10nm Tiger Lake-H processors that are ready for gaming and high-end productivity notebooks.
For its 10th gen chips, Intel used a 10nm process (“Ice Lake”) for ultrabooks but used a 14nm chip (“Comet Lake”) for these enthusiast machines. Now, we have time to see what Intel’s 10nm SuperFin chips can do on the high end. Like the U-series Tiger Lake chips, these use Willow Cove execution cores paired with a UHD Graphics 750 engine that’s powered by Intel’s Xe architecture.
It comes at a crucial time. AMD’s
Ryzen 5000 series
(“Cezanne,” on a 7nm process) has proven powerful and, among gamers, popular. During current hardware shortages, some of the
best gaming laptops
have been nearly impossible to find. Intel claims that it has already shipped more than 1 million of its chips to its partners and that it will come in more than eighty different laptop designs.
The 11th Gen H-series processors include Thunderbolt 4 (and
USB 4
) and Resizable Bar support, and are notably Intel’s first eight-core laptop chips that work with PCIe 4.0 SSDs. AMD’s competing Zen 3 mobile chips are still on PCIe 3.0.
A lot is riding on Tiger Lake H’s success. Intel has already called its 11th generation the “world’s best gaming laptop processors,” and now, with the help of a sample unit, we’ve had a chance to see if those claims ring true.
How We Tested Tiger Lake i9
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Our Tiger Lake-H testing was performed on an Intel-branded sample “white box” system, similar to our early testing of Tiger Lake-U and Ice Lake. This isn’t a review of the Intel Core i9-11980HK processor inside so much as a performance preview of what you can expect from upcoming systems that will be available to buy. Our full reviews will come when we see the i9-11980HK and other 11th Gen CPUs in computers that are on sale.
Intel loaned reviewers these systems with the knowledge that they are pre-production systems that aren’t necessarily representative of final systems, which may have more finished drivers.
Unlike previous Intel sample systems, this one couldn’t toggle between TDPs. Many of Intel’s 11th gen processors will be configurable by the manufacturer, ranging from 35 to 65W (the Core i9-11980HK is a 65W, overclockable processor that peaks at 110W (PL2). In HWInfo, our unit showed a PL1 of 65W and a PL2 of 109W.
We did our testing on the suite we use to test gaming laptops to get an idea of where something specced similar to this sample system might fall. We had a limited amount of time with the system, so we could only run some tests. Some, like battery life, are more important on actual systems that will be on sale than this early sample.
Intel Reference Design for Tiger Lake i9 and Competitors
The Tiger Lake-H i9 reference design came with the following specifications:
2x 512GB Phison SM280512GKBB4S-E162 PCIe Gen 4 SSD
Display
16-inch, 2560 x 1600 (16:10)
Networking
Killer Wi-Fi 6E Ax1675X
Ports
2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB Type-A, microSD card reader, 3.5mm headphone jack
Battery
90 WHr
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro
Yes, Intel’s sample system paired its top-end GPU with a mid-range Nvidia GPU. It’s an odd pairing on paper, but one that allows for slim systems. Intel claims that this will enable “thin enthusiast” laptops, which fall in between ultraportable notebooks with its H35 processors and the big, thick machines that include the most intensive graphics cards.
From our reviews database, we chose to compare a number of different laptops depending on the task. For gaming, we broke out the
Acer Predator Triton 300 SE
with a 35W i7-11375H and the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 with a Ryzen 7 5800H. Both of these also use RTX 3060 GPUs, like the reference system.
For our productivity benchmarks, we also included some other, bigger systems that may have more powerful GPUs to compare against a range of processors, including the Ryzen 9 5900HX in the
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733
; the Intel Core i9-10980HK in the
Alienware m17 R4
; and the 35W Ryzen 9 5980HS in the Asus ROG Flow X13.
Acer Predator Triton 300 SE
Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733
Alienware m17 R4
Asus ROG Flow X13
CPU
Intel Core i7-11375H
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
Intel Core i9-10980HK
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
GPU
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q, 75W TGP
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 125W TGP
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 130W
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
AMD Radeon Graphics (integrated)
RAM
16GB DDR4-3200
16GB DDR4-3200
32GB DDR4-3200
32GB DDR4-2933
32GB LPDDR4x-4266
Storage
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
2x 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD
512GB Boot, 2TB (2 x 1TB RAID 0) SSD
1TB M.2 2230 NVMe SSD
Display
14-inch, 1920 x 1080, 144 Hz IPS
15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080, 165Hz, IPS
17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080, 360 Hz, IPS
17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080, 360 Hz
13.4-inch, 3840 x 2400, 16:10, 60 Hz, touch
And here’s how the CPUs all stack up on paper:
Cores / Threads
Process Node
Base Frequency
Max Turbo Frequency
TDP
Intel Core i9-11980HK
16-Aug
10nm SuperFin
2.6 GHz
5.0 GHz
45 – 65 W
Intel Core i9-10980HK
16-Aug
14nm
2.4 GHz
5.3 GHz
45 – 65 W
Intel Core i7-11375H
8-Apr
10nm SuperFin
3.3 GHz
5.0 GHz
28 – 35W
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
16-Aug
7nm FinFET
3.2 GHz
4.4 GHz
35 – 54W
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
16-Aug
7nm FinFET
3.3 GHz
4.6 GHz
35 – 54W
AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS
16-Aug
7nm FinFET
3.0 GHz
4.8 GHz
35W
Productivity Performance of Tiger Lake i9
We started out with our productivity suite to test the Core i9-11980HK to its 10th Gen counterpart, the highest-end Intel H35 processor and a series of AMD Ryzen competitors.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
On Geekbench 5, the Tiger Lake-H system started strong, pushing the highest single-core (1,649) of the bunch and beating the next highest multi-core score by more than 1,000 points (9,254). The next closest was the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX in the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733, which also had 32GB of RAM.
The Core i9-10980HK, the 10th Gen chip from Intel, was in a close third on multi-core, though in single-core other Ryzen laptops surpassed it.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Intel sample system was also the fastest system to complete our Handbrake test, which transcodes a
4K
video to 1080p (with one caveat: we removed laptops with far more powerful GPUs, which could have some effect. If you left in the Ryzen 9 5900HX, it was faster at 6:11 in the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733).
It was (unsurprisingly) significantly faster than the 35W Core i7, and also ahead of the Ryzen 7 5800H and 35W Ryzen 9 59080HS.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Intel sample system contained a pair of 512GB Phison PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, which the Core i9-11980HK can take advantage of. It was one of the speedier laptops in our test pool, but the Asus ROG Flow X13 was actually a little bit faster in our 25GB file transfer test.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
To check stability over a longer duration, we ran Cinbench R23 for 20 runs. The cooling, which was exceptionally loud during all of the tests (and sometimes while the sample system was doing absolutely nothing) kept it stable.
It started at a high of 11,846.31 while largely settling in the 11,600 range. During the Cinebench stress test, the CPU ran at an average of 3.5 GHz and an average temperature of 85.77 degrees Celsius (186.39 degrees Fahrenheit). While the chart looks largely stable, the monitoring tool HWinfo reported that the CPU was being thermally throttled for the majority of the test. This is the downside of putting a high-wattage processor in a slim system, and also explains the constant fan noise.
Gaming and Graphics Performance of Tiger Lake i9
In this system, Intel paired its top-of-the-line mobile processor with an RTX 3060 Max-Q. It’s a questionable decision for this kind of performance preview, as our first impression didn’t give us the chance to see what happens when this chip is used with a more powerful graphics card that would take full advantage of its capabilities. So our test pool here includes other laptops with an RTX 3060, either full or
Max-Q
.
On most of the benchmarks we ran, this thin and light notebook performed almost identically to what you would expect from Intel’s 35-watt Tiger Lake H processors that were launched earlier this year. That is, at
1080p
. We also ran the tests at the laptop’s native 2560 x 1600 resolution.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
On Shadow of the Tomb Raider (highest settings), the Intel sample system ran the benchmark at 62 frames per second, within one frame of the Acer Predator Trion 300 SE with H35. The Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 with a full RTX 3060 Max-Q won out at 73 fps.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
We saw a very similar pattern on Grand Theft Auto V (very high settings). Intel’s system matched the Acer but fell behind the Alienware. On both Shadow of the Tomb Raider and GTAV, the Intel system was still playable above 30 fps at 2560 x 1600 on the same settings.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Tiger Lake-H finally had its moment on Far Cry New Dawn (ultra settings), running at 91 fps, beating out both the Predator (73 fps) and AMD-based Alienware (79 fps) at 1080p. At native resolution, the sample system was still over 60 fps.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
But on Red Dead Redemption 2 and Borderlands 3, we were back to the same old tale, coming extremely close to the H35 laptop. On RDR 2‘s medium settings, it ran at 48 fps at 1080p and 33 fps at 2560 x 1440.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
On Borderlands 3‘s “badass” quality settings, the game ran at 56 fps at 1080p, falling about 10 frames behind the Alienware. Intel’s sample system ran the game at 37 fps at 2560 x 1600.
Lastly, we ran the Metro Exodus gauntlet that we run in our laptop review. We have laptops play through the benchmark 15 times on the RTX preset (1920 x 1080) to simulate a half-hour of gaming. Intel’s CPU ran at an average of 3.38 GHz with an average temperature of 64.71 degrees Celsius (148.48 degrees Fahrenheit). There was some throttling, but not as often as during the Cinebench R23 stress test. The GPU ran at an average of 1,188.23 MHz and 64.21 degrees Celsius (147.58 degrees Fahrenheit).
Cooling Tiger Lake i9
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Unlike with some previous early Intel samples, we were allowed to crack this one open to show it to you.
The laptop has three fans, while even most gaming laptops stick to two larger ones. That may explain the decibels. But what’s also fascinating is that the motherboard in the reference platform has been placed effectively upside down. This means that we can’t see the full cooler, including the heat pipes. That would require far more disassembly.
There are still serviceable parts, but they are connected to the edge of the board. Notably, there’s only one 512GB SSD that’s easily accessible. The other one must be on the other side of the motherboard.
Impressions of Tiger Lake i9
As always, it’s extremely difficult to get a complete picture of how high-end, Tiger Lake-H chips will run in laptops that OEMs will start selling today. Our testing was done under extremely limited time, and only used one new 11th Gen H-series chip.
To complicate things, this reference design is meant to represent a new “thin enthusiast” sector for Intel, which meant we couldn’t see how the Core i9-11980HK will perform at its best, in a thicker laptop with more elaborate cooling. Of course, every laptop is unique, so the processors may perform slightly differently based on size, cooling and other factors. We hope to be able to see a bigger, flagship gaming system with this processor for a fuller idea soon.
In productivity testing, our early benchmarks show a leap for Intel and its 10nm SuperFin process, especially in multi-core workloads. But AMD’s best, the Ryzen 9 5900HX still puts up a fight in some areas.
In gaming, we’ll really have to wait. What we now expect from finalized thin systems is that they won’t run games much differently from H35 variants unless those titles really hit the CPU hard.
As usual, the best way to truly tell is when we start testing laptops with a Tiger Lake-H that you can actually buy. As those hit our labs, we’ll see a wider variety of laptop designs and the full range of 11th Gen H-series processors.
Gigabyte is announcing seven new laptops featuring the hardware from Intel and Nvidia, two of which are packing Nvidia’s brand new RTX 3050 Ampere mobile GPU.
The new Gigabyte G5 and G7 are the company’s latest budget-friendly offerings for mainstream buyers. Both models are packing Intel’s 11th Gen Core processors, the eight-core i7-11800H or the hexa-core Core i5-11400H based on the Tiger Lake architecture. The G5 and G7 also use Nvidia’s newly released RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti mobile GPUs.
Both notebooks feature dual DDR4-3200 slots supporting a max of 64GB (32GB per DIMM), and dual M.2 slots supporting PCIe with one allowing up to Gen 3 speeds and the other up to Gen 4. Plus, you get one 2.5-inch HDD/SSD slot that supports 7mm (or thinner) SATA drives.
The main difference between the G5 and the G7 is display size. The G5 is a 15-inch notebook while the G7 comes in a larger 17-inch form factor. Despite the changes in size, both laptops will come with the same panel specs, with a 1080p display at 144 Hz.
For connectivity the G5 and G7 come with four USB ports of different variations: You get a single USB 2.0 Type-A, dual USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports with one being type-C, and finally a USB 3.2 Gen 1 type A port.
For wireless connectivity, the G5 and G7 come with Intel’s AX200 or AX201 wireless cards which both support WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. For storage and memory, you get dual M.2 slots with one supporting Gen 3 speeds and the other supporting Gen 4.
The line starts at $1,149 for the lowest-end G5.
Refreshed AERO 15/17
(Image credit: Gigabyte)
Gigabyte is also updating its Aero line of laptops, which are targeted towards creators and gamers alike. Gigabyte is adding two upgraded models to the Aero lineup, the Aero 15 OLED and the Aero 17 HDR with new CPUs.
The main differences between the 15 and 17 will be its size and display type (as the name implies), the Aero 15 will come with a Samsung AMOLED display so you get those very crisply visuals and stunning visuals. Unfortunately, you will not be able to get an AMOLED display for the Aero 17, so Gigabyte has opted for a 4k HDR display instead.
The upgrade you’re getting on the new refreshed Aero 15 and 17 are the CPUs; both the OLED and HDR variants get upgraded to Intel’s 11th Gen Tiger Lake CPUs, specifically the i9-11980HK or the i7-11800H. Giving these laptops a big performance and efficiency boost over previous Comet Lake mobile CPUs.
Like the previous Comet Lake-based Aero 15 and 17, you get options for either an RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 GPU with a 105W TDP.
AORUS 17X
(Image credit: Gigabyte)
Gigabyte is also refreshing the Aorus 17X, the companies flagship gaming laptop with a 17.3 display and a thick chassis with vapor chamber cooling to cool Nvidia and Intel’s top tier CPUs and GPUs.
The 17X will come with Intel’s highest-end mobile processor you can get, the i9-11980HK with 8 cores and a max turbo frequency of 5GHz. The chip has a configurable TDP up to 65W. What we don’t know is how Gigabyte configured the TDP for the Aorus 17X.
For graphics, the Aorus 17X will come with an RTX 3080, with a whopping 165W of target graphics power.
This flagship device includes some other top-end specifications, including a 300 Hz display and a mechanical keyboard with Omron gaming switches and RGB backlighting.
This laptop is set to launch in June starting at $2,099.
The Razer Blade 15 Advanced, one of the numerous laptops announced today with Intel’s new chips.Image: Razer
Over half a dozen manufacturers have announced new models
Intel is adding new processors to its 11th Gen Core H-series lineup today, and over half a dozen laptop manufacturers are announcing new machines that make use of them. In total, there are 10 new Tiger Lake-H processors being announced today, including five consumer processors and five commercial processors, with between six and eight cores. Here’s our full writeup on the chips themselves.
According to Intel, its new H-series processors will be used in over 30 upcoming ultraportables (aka: laptops that are 20mm thick or less) and upward of 80 workstations. Companies including Razer, HP, Asus, Lenovo, MSI, Acer, Gigabyte, and Dell are announcing their first laptops with the new chips today, and we’ve rounded up their models below.
Razer
Razer has announced a range of new Blade 15 Advanced laptops featuring Intel’s 11th Gen H-series processors. At the top of the lineup is a model with a Core i9-11900H paired with an RTX 3080 GPU with 16GB of video memory and a 4K 60Hz OLED touchscreen. But if you’re looking for something a little less powerful, you can get a machine that’s just 15.8mm thick, and Razer claims it’s the smallest 15-inch gaming laptop with RTX graphics. This thinner model is a step down specs-wise: it has a Core i7-11800H, an RTX 3060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a QHD 240Hz IPS display.
Razer’s laptops will be available to preorder from May 17th and will ship in June. Prices start at $2,299. Read more about Razer’s new laptops here.
HP’s ZBook Studio G8.HP
HP
HP has three new laptops it’s announcing today: the ZBook Fury G8, the ZBook Power G8, and the ZBook Studio G8. The Studio G8 can be configured with up to an Intel Core i9-11950H vPro processor, alongside an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU with up to 16GB of video memory (there’s also the option of equipping it with a more creative-focused Nvidia RTX A5000 GPU). Available display options for the ZBook Studio G8 include 1080p IPS, 4K 120Hz IPS, or 4K OLED.
HP’s ZBook Studio G8 will be available from July at a price that’s yet to be announced. Meanwhile, the Power G8 and Fury G8 will launch at some point this summer. Read more about HP’s new laptops here.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16.Image: Asus
Asus
Asus has new Zephyrus laptops to bring to the table today. First is the Zephyrus M16, which will sit above its more mainstream G-series laptops like the Zephyrus G14 and Zephyrus G15. Asus says the M16 will be configurable with up to an Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU, alongside Intel’s H-series chips. In terms of its display, the Zephyrus M16 has a tall 16:10 aspect ratio, QHD resolution, and 165Hz refresh rate. The company is also announcing the Zephyrus S17, a premium gaming laptop, which is available with up to an Intel Core i9-11900H, 48GB of RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 3080 with 16GB of VRAM.
Pricing and release information for the Zephyrus M16 is yet to be announced. The Zephyrus S17 will be available at some point in Q2 in North America. Read more about Asus’ new laptops here.
The Lenovo Legion 7.Lenovo
Lenovo
While we’re on the topic of 16:10 displays, Lenovo’s new Legion 7i and 5i Pro gaming laptops also use the aspect ratio for their 16-inch screens, paired with a 165Hz refresh rate. Specs for the 7i range up to the flagship Intel Core i9-11980HK, which can be paired with up to an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU with 16GB of video memory. Step down to the Lenovo 5i Pro and your most powerful options drop to the Core i7-11800H, with an Nvidia RTX 3070. On the lower end, Lenovo also has models featuring Nvidia’s new RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti GPUs.
The Legion 7i and 5i Pro will both release in June starting at $1,769.99 and $1,329.99, respectively. Meanwhile, the 5i will release later in July with a starting price of $969.99. Read more about Lenovo’s new laptops here.
MSI’s GL66 Pulse.Image: MSI
MSI
MSI is announcing a number of new gaming and creator-focused laptops today, ranging from two Creator Z16 models (which are aimed at the kinds of customers that would otherwise have bought a MacBook Pro), down to its more gaming-focused “Katana” and “Sword” machines.
The Creator Z16 has a 120Hz 16:10 QHD+ touch display and is available with an Nvidia GeForce 3060, and either a Core i7-11800H or a Core i9-11900H. Stepping down to the Creator M16 still gets you a QHD+ display, but its internal specs top out at Nvidia’s RTX 3050 Ti and Intel’s Core i7. There’s also a new Creator 17 using the new chips, which is available with up to a Core i9 and RTX 3080, and comes complete with a Mini LED display.
On the gaming side, MSI has also bumped over a half dozen laptops up to the new processors, including the GE76, GE66 Raider, GS76 Stealth, GS66 Stealth, GP76 Leopard, GP66 Leopard, GL76 Pulse, and GL66 Pulse. Finally, there’s the new “Katana” and “Sword” laptops. These are available with up to Core i7-11800H CPUs and include versions with Nvidia RTX 3060, RTX 3050 Ti, and RTX 3050 GPUs.
MSI’s Creator Z16 starts at $2,599, its Katana models start at $999, Sword will start at $1,099, and pricing for the Creator M16 is yet to be announced. The laptops are due to release later this month on May 16th. Read more about MSI’s new laptops here.
Dell / Alienware
Not to be left out of the action, Dell has a collection of new laptops it’s announcing based on Intel’s latest-generation H-series processors, with some targeting consumers and gamers, and others aimed at business users. There are Dell-branded models, as well as laptops from its Alienware subsidiary.
First up is the Alienware M15 R6. It’s available with up to a Core i9 11900H, 32GB of RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 3080 with 8GB of video memory. It’s got a 15.6-inch display, and there are options for a 1080p 165Hz display, 1080p 360Hz, or QHD 240Hz. Dell is also teasing the Alienware X17 in a series of images, as well as the teaser trailer embedded above. Details on this laptop are currently slim, but the company says it’ll eventually be available with 11th Gen Intel Core processors and 30-series GPUs from Nvidia.
Dell is also announcing a new G15 laptop today. The laptop will be available with up to an Intel 11th Gen six-core Core i7 CPU, Nvidia 30-series GPUs, and a choice of 120Hz or 165Hz refresh rates for its 15.6-inch 1080p display.
Away from its gaming machines, Dell is also announcing revamped XPS 15 and XPS 17 laptops today. They’ll be available with Intel’s latest processors, Nvidia RTX graphics, and there’s also a new OLED screen version of the XPS 15. Finally, Dell is also releasing updated models across its business-focused Precision and Latitude lineups.
The Alienware M15 R6 will start at $1,299.99, the Dell G15 at $949.99, the XPS 15 at $1,199.99, and the XPS 17 at $1,399.99. All are available from today. Expect more information on the X17 in the months ahead.
The XPS 15.Image: Dell
Gigabyte
Gigabyte is also announcing new laptops across its Aero, Aorus, and G series lineups.
First up from Gigabyte are new Aero series laptops aimed at creators. There’s the Aero 15 OLED, which is available with up to an Intel Core i9-11980HK, RTX 3080, and 4K HDR OLED display. Meanwhile, the Aero 17 HDR is available up to the same specs, but it’s got a larger 17.3-inch display (up from 15.6-inch with the Aero 15) which is IPS rather than OLED.
Meanwhile over on the gaming side, there’s the Aorus 15P, Aorus 17G, and Aorus 17X. The 15P and 17G are available with Intel Core i7-11800H processors and up to an Nvidia RTX 3080 with 16GB of video memory. The Aorus 15P has a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS display that’s available with either 240Hz or 360Hz refresh rates, while the Aorus 17G has a 17.3-inch IPS display with a refresh rate of 300Hz. The Aorus 17X also has a 17.3-inch 300Hz IPS display and is available with up to an RTX 3080, but it features a more powerful Intel Core i9-11980HK processor.
Finally, there are Gigabyte’s 15.6-inch G5 MD and G5 GD, and its 17.3-inch G7 MD, and G7 GD laptops. Resolution and refresh rate is 1080p and 144Hz across the board. The G5 MD and G5 GD have Intel Core i5-11400H processors, the G7 MD has an i7-11800H, and the G7 GD has an i5-11400H. The laptops are equipped with Nvidia’s new RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti GPUs.
The Aero 15 OLED starts at $1,799, and the Aero 17 HDR starts at $2,499, and both are officially on sale today. The Aorus 15P starts at $1,599, and the 17G starts at $2,099 (pricing for the 17X was not available at time of publication), and they’re also available starting today. Preorders for the new G5 and G7 models also open today, with the G5 starting at $1,149.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17X.Image: Gigabyte
Acer
Acer has three new laptops it’s announcing today: the Predator Triton 300, Predator Helios 300, and the Nitro 5. All three are spec bumps of existing models.
The company says its Triton 300 will be available with up to a 4.6GHz Intel 11th Gen H-series processor, an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU, and 32GB of RAM. Available displays include a 165Hz QHD screen, or a 360Hz 1080p panel.
Next up is the Helios 300. It’s also available with Intel’s latest processors paired with 32GB of RAM, but it maxes out at an Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU. Like the Triton 300, it’s also available with a 360Hz 1080p or a 165Hz QHD display. Similarly, the Nitro 5 is also available with Intel’s latest-generation chips, an RTX 3070 GPU, and 32GB of RAM. Acer says the Nitro 5 is available with 15.6 or 17.3-inch QHD IPS displays with 165Hz refresh rates.
The Predator Triton 300 will be available in North America from July starting at $1,699, while the Nitro 5 will be available from June starting at $999. Pricing and availability for the Predator Helios 300 was not available at time of publication.
Razer has just announced new versions of its Blade 15 workhorse gaming laptop, complete with some of the biggest changes to the lineup in some time.
Like many other laptops announced today, the new Blade 15 Advanced features Intel’s 11th Gen H-series processors and Nvidia’s RTX 30-series graphics chips, with up to a Core i9 11900H (2.5GHz base clock, 4.9GHz boost clock), an RTX 3080 GPU with 16GB of video memory (Razer declined to share the total graphics power ahead of publishing), and a 4K touchscreen.
The most welcome improvement might be the new fingerprint-resistant coating making its way to all of these new models. I can’t imagine that it’ll eliminate fingerprints altogether, but this should address one of the biggest annoyances with the prior models. The Windows Hello webcam is getting bumped up to 1080p resolution (from 720p), and Razer claims the trackpads have improved palm rejection.
For the new design, Razer managed to shave off a little more than a millimeter from the thickness of the Blade 15 Advanced, coming in at 15.8mm thick. Razer claims that it’s the smallest 15-inch gaming laptop with RTX graphics and is 17 percent smaller by dimensions compared to the MSI GS66 Stealth. This size reduction applies only to the starting model that has the RTX 3060, though. Thinner might sound more appealing, but it isn’t usually better for gaming performance. Nvidia allows OEMs like Razer to choose the wattage and clock speed of the GPU based on their laptop designs, and generally speaking, the thinner the laptop is, the worse it can be running games compared to thicker laptops that typically allow for bigger cooling systems.
The higher-specced options are thicker than this 15.8mm model, but that’s roughly the same thickness as the previous generation. The width and depth of these machines debuting today are also unchanged from the previous gen at 355 and 235mm (13.98 and 9.25 inches), respectively.
The Blade 15 Advanced can be configured with an FHD, QHD, or 4K display.Image: Razer
The latest (and thinnest) Blade 15 Advanced starts at $2,299, and this model has a 240Hz QHD IPS panel with 2.5ms response time and 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut. It has an octa-core Intel Core i7-11800H processor, the RTX 3060 GPU with 8GB of video memory, and 16GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 3,200MHz. A 1TB NVMe SSD that supports PCIe 4.0 for faster read / write and transfer speeds and a 80Wh battery come standard across all Advanced models.
The selection of ports across the Advanced lineup is similar but not exactly the same as the models released earlier in 2021. The most notable exceptions are the two new Thunderbolt 4 ports. In addition, you’ll find an UHS-III SD card reader, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a headphone jack, and an HDMI 2.1 port. Aside from that, all new Blade 15 models support Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 20V charging via USB-C.
All of the Advanced models also support upgradeable storage and RAM. The starting model has only one M.2 slot because of its thin design, but all other new models have an additional M.2 slot for a total of up to 4TB of storage supported.
Spending more will get you a better screen, processor, and GPU. Below you can see the specs of each option, as well as the most recent version of the prior Blade 15 Advanced.
QHD (240Hz IPS), upgradeable to FHD (360Hz IPS), or 4K (60Hz OLED with touch)
QHD (240Hz IPS, 2.5ms response time)
OLED 4K touchscreen (60Hz, 1ms response time)
Storage
1TB PCIe NVMe SSD (supports a second M.2 drive for a total of up to 4TB)
1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD (supports a second M.2 drive for a total of up to 4TB)
Memory
16GB dual-channel DDR4-2933MHz RAM (upgradeable to 32GB, user replaceable up to 64GB)
16GB dual-channel DDR4-3200MHz (upgradeable to 32GB, user replaceable up to 64GB)
32GB dual-channel DDR4-3200MHz (user replaceable up to 64GB)
Processor
Intel Core i7-10875H (2.3GHz base clock, 5.1GHz boost)
Intel Core i7-11800H (2.3GHz base, 4.2GHz boost)
Intel Core i9-11900H (2.5GHz base, 4.9GHz boost)
Graphics
Nvidia RTX 3070 (upgradeable to Nvidia’s RTX 3080 with 16GB of VRAM)
Nvidia RTX 3060 with 8GB vRAM
Nvidia RTX 3080 with 16GB vRAM
USB-C ports
Two (one being a Thunderbolt 3 port with four lanes of PCIe throughput)
Two Thunderbolt 4 ports
Two Thunderbolt 4 ports
USB-C charging
Yes (20V charging)
Yes (20V charging)
Yes (20V charging)
Battery
80Wh
80Wh
80Wh
USB Type A ports
Three (3.2 Gen 2)
Two (3.2 Gen 2)
Two (3.2 Gen 2)
HDMI 2.1 support
Yes
Yes
Yes
SD card reader
Yes (UHS-III)
Yes (UHS-III)
Yes (UHS-III)
Ethernet port
No
No
No
Headphone port
Yes
Yes
Yes
Webcam
Windows Hello 720p
Windows Hello 1080p
Windows Hello 1080p
Wi-Fi 6E support
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
5.2
5.2
5.2
Starting price
$2,499
$2,299
$3,399
All of these new Blade 15 Advanced machines will be available for preorder starting Monday, May 17th from Razer. They’ll go on sale and ship sometime in June.
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