In this article we’re discussing the gaming performance you should expect at 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 px) on modern laptops built on the latest RTX 4000 Ada Lovelace graphics chips from Nvidia.
While we’re currently in the process of testing a handful of RTX 4000 notebooks, I’m only going to touch on gaming at 4K resolution on top-tier Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop configurations for now, but will update with RTX 4080/4070 performance in the near future.
These initial findings are based on the Asus ROG Scar 18 18-inch laptop reviewed in this article. Here are the specs of that laptop:
- Intel Core i9-13980HX + Nvidia RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB 175W, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, 2 TB gen4 SSD (235W CPU+GPU design on the Turbo profile, with up to 175W on the GPU – set on Turbo mode, with the MUX on Ultimate – dGPU mode).
I’ll update this section with links to other reviews once available.
The Scar comes with an 18-inch QHD+ display, just like the majority of other high-performance laptops of this generation, so we’re testing 4K gaming performance on an external monitor connected via the HDMI 2.1 port, which hooks into the dGPU.
Our test monitor is the 32-inch Asus ROG Swift, with 4K resolution, up to 144Hz refresh, and FreeSync/GSync.
It’s also important to note that the Scar implements the highest-power variant of the RTX 4090 mobile chip, running at up to 175W TGP with Dynamic Boost 2.0, and the GPU is backed up by an excellent cooling solution and a high TDP implementation of the Core i9-13980HX processor, the fastest CPU available on laptops today.
That means the results discussed down below are pretty-much a best-case scenario for 4090 laptops at this point, as not all the available implementations are going to perform similarly, especially those options with thinner-and-lighter designs.
So here are the results:
| Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4090 Laptop 150-175W | QHD+ Turbo, CPU -30 mV, Ultimate dGPU mode, on desk |
4K Turbo on external monitor, CPU -30 mV, Ultimate dGPU mode, on desk |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (DX 12, Ultra Preset, RTX OFF) |
92 fps (60 fps – 1% low) | 77 fps (31 fps – 1% low) |
| Doom Eternal (Vulkan, Ultra Preset) |
378 fps (46 fps – 1% low) | 198 fps (48 fps – 1% low) |
| Far Cry 6 (DX 12, Ultra Preset, TAA) |
120 fps (83 fps – 1% low) | 83 fps (56 fps – 1% low) |
| Far Cry 5 (DX 11, Ultra Preset, SMAA) |
159 fps (101 fps – 1% low) | 107 fps (69 fps – 1% low) |
| Metro Exodus (DX 12, Ultra Preset, RTX OFF) |
107 fps (69 fps – 1% low) | 77 fps (48 fps – 1% low) |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 (DX 12, Ultra Optimized, TAA) |
133 fps (88 fps – 1% low) | 71 fps (47 fps – 1% low) |
| Shadow of Tomb Raider (DX 12, Highest Preset, TAA) |
153 fps (97 fps – 1% low) | 86 fps (47 fps – 1% low) |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (DX 11, Ultra Preset, TAAU) |
82 fps (44 fps – 1% low) | 56 fps (28 fps – 1% low) |
- Battlefield V, Cyberpunk, Doom, Witcher 3 – recorded with Fraps/in-game FPS counter in campaign mode;
- Far Cry 5, 6, Metro, Red Dead Redemption 2, Tomb Raider games – recorded with the included Benchmark utilities;
- Red Dead Redemption 2 Optimized profile based on these settings.
All these titles are playable at 4K resolution on Ultra graphics settings, with Witcher 3 being the only one that dips under 60 fps with the latest update.
The good news is that the performance is not CPU limited at 4K resolution on this 4090 175W configuration, unlike at lower resolutions (some titles at QHD+ res, and most titles at FHD+ res). So you are getting your money’s worth when buying a 4090 laptop for gaming at 4K. Well, sort of … more about this in a bit.
Those above are rasterization tests, and here are some results for RTX – Ray Tracing performance, with and without DLSS.
| Core i9-13980HX + RTX 4090 Laptop 150-175W | QHD+ Turbo, CPU -30 mV, Ultimate dGPU, on desk |
4K Turbo on external monitor, CPU -30 mV, Ultimate dGPU, on desk |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (DX 12, Ultra Preset + RTX, DLSS Off) |
83 fps (52 fps – 1% low) | 43 fps (17 fps – 1% low) |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (DX 12, Ultra Preset + RTX, DLSS Balanced) |
124 fps (87 fps – 1% low) | 71 fps (22 fps – 1% low) |
| Doom Eternal (DX 12, Ultra Preset, RTX On, DLSS Off) |
258 fps (45 fps – 1% low) | 151 fps (42 fps – 1% low) |
| Doom Eternal (DX 12, Ultra Preset, RTX On, DLSS Quality) |
256 fps (51 fps – 1% low) | 167 fps (48 fps – 1% low) |
| Far Cry 6 (DX 12, Ultra Preset + DXR reflections / shadows) |
103 fps (68 fps – 1% low) | 73 fps (48 fps – 1% low) |
| Shadow of Tomb Raider (DX 12, Highest Preset, TAA, RTX Ultra, DLSS Off) |
103 fps (64 fps – 1% low) | 58 fps (29 fps – 1% low) |
| Shadow of Tomb Raider (DX 12, Highest Preset, TAA, RTX Ultra, DLSS On) |
119 fps (65 fps – 1% low) | 65 fps (3 fps – 1% low) |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (DX 11, Ultra Preset, TAAU, RT Ultra, DLSS Off) |
41 fps (22 fps – 1% low) | 26 fps (12 fps – 1% low) |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (DX 11, Ultra Preset, TAAU, RT Ultra, DLSS On) |
72 fps (38 fps – 1% low) | 42 fps (22 fps – 1% low) |
With Ray-Tracing on, the performance takes a dip in many titles, so you’ll most likely want to activate DLSS Frame Generation to bring the framerates to playable levels. Just be careful that DLSS adds in a fair bit of lag and even some ghosting and graphical artifacts in some titles. The lag isn’t that bad in slower-paced games, but is a nuisance for faster-paced titles.
In all fairness, DLSS3 technology and the Ada Lovelace mobile platform are still young at the time we’re running these tests, early into 2023, so the experience should improve over time.
Summary on 4K laptop gaming
Overall, the RTX 4090 Laptop dGPU is pretty much the first mobile solution that can properly handle 4K gaming in most modern games, and a major (40-70%) step-up in performance from the beefiest RTX 3080Ti Laptop implementations of the past generations. However, even this one struggles once you activate Ray-Tracing in the most demanding games, so you’ll either have to trim down the graphics settings or turn to DLSS for extra frame insertion in order to keep things looking smooth.
I’ll also add that despite being called an RTX 4090 chip, which is a novelty for the mobile space, this mobile 4090 variant is quite a downgrade in features and performance compared to the desktop 4090 chip. It comes with 60% fewer processing cores (~9700 CUDAs vs ~16000 CUDAs on the desktop model), 80% lower frequencies, and roughly 50% of the TGP, in order to fit inside a notebook chassis.
Thus, as a potential buyer, you’ll have to decide whether you’re willing to spend the kind of money OEMs ask for one of these 4090 laptops (3500-5000 USD/EUR), or you’d better go with a PC and 4090 desktop GPU for the same kind of money and even less. Especially since the majority of these RTX 4090 notebooks are pretty big and heavy anyway, and mostly meant for desk use.
The following video from Hardware Unboxed further touches on 4K gaming performance on RTX laptops and how it compares to the desktop RTX 4090 experience and FHD, QHD, and 4K resolutions, so is definitely worth watching.
Anyway, that’s about it for this brief article, but look for updates in the near future once we get to test 4K gaming performance on more 4090 notebooks and some mid-level 4080 and 4070 platforms as well.
In the meantime, I’m interested in finding out your thoughts on the Nvidia RTX 4090 Laptop chip and whether this is worth getting for 4K gaming today.
Jade Empire
February 9, 2023 at 8:36 pm
Seems like for that amount of money it's better to just buy a RTX 4090 desktop computer with a nice 4K monitor.
NikoB
February 18, 2023 at 6:52 pm
It was clear from the very beginning that even for the desktop version of 4090 which is 1.5 times faster than mobile – 4k would be a problem, especially given the drop in frames in some scenes, which is simply unacceptable in multiplayer, especially in as like real-time "racing" and etc. – there must be at least 60fps+ always in 100% of cases.
Today there is not even a desktop card that can pull out stable 60fps without rays, especially in ultra quality (studio version).
And the all newest video chips themselves consume too much, what to speak of a certain technological dead end for hardware on silicon.
"Gaming" laptops are a completely incomprehensible topic for me, except for rare cases when a person cannot use a top-end desktop for games vs top-end laptop, which is obviously 1.5 times faster for the same money and quieter at the same time at times. At the same time, updating the video card on the desktop is elementary, when changing generations.