It's been a monumental year for laptops. First, Nvidia kicked off the year by releasing its next-gen GeForce RTX 50-series mobile GPUs, then we got an all-new range of Intel Core Ultra series 2 CPUs and just recently, AMD launched FSR Redstone for AI-powered resolution scaling, ray tracing and frame generation.
What does that all translate to? Many of the fastest and most powerful gaming laptops that the Tom's Guide team and I have tested. It's been eye-opening watching numbers skyrocket in the suite of benchmarks and real-world tests we've been putting the latest systems of 2025 through, so trust me when I say we're at the peak of gaming on laptops right now.
Specs
For context, here's a look at the top-grade components under the hood of each of the laptops. Each follows a familiar pattern: Intel Core Ultra 9 processors, top-of-the-line RTX 5090 GPUs, 64GB of DDR5 RAM and massive 18-inch displays. With the power they hold, you bet these don't come cheap — they're all over $5,000.
These are the specs we tested them with, but of course, you can configure them to keep the price down.
I've also added our top pick from 2024, the Alienware M18 R2, which rocks the same type of premium specs but just from the previous generation. That includes an Intel Core i9 14900HX CPU, RTX 4090 GPU, 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. This is to show the gap between today's gaming laptops and some of the best high-end performance from the previous year.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Razer Blade 18 (2025) | Alienware 18 Area-51 (2025) | MSI Titan 18 HX (2025) | Alienware m18 R2 (2024) |
Price | $5,199 | $5,199 | From $5,000 | $3,599 |
Display | 18-inch dual-mode 4K (240Hz) / 1200p (440Hz) IPS | 18-inch WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) IPS (300Hz) | 18-inch 4K Mini-LED display (120Hz) | 18-inch (2560 x 1600) IPS (165Hz) |
CPU | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX | Intel Core i9 14900HX |
GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 |
RAM | 64GB DDR5 | 64GB DDR5 | 64GB DDR5 | 32GB DDR5 |
Storage | 4TB SSD | 2TB | 6TB | 2TB |
Ports | 3x USB-A, 1x Thunderbolt 5, 1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x SD card reader, 1x RJ45 Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm audio jack | 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 2x Thunderbolt 5, 2x Thunderbolt 5, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x SD card reader, 1x RJ45 Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm audio jack | 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x SD card slot, 2.5 Gigabit ethernet, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 2x Thunderbolt 5 | 3x USB-A, 3x USB-C (2x Thunderbolt 4), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x miniDisplayPort, 1x SD card reader, 1x Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm audio |
Dimensions | 15.8 x 10.9 x 1.1 inches | 16.4 x 12.5 x 0.9 inches | 15.9 x 12.1 x 1.3 inches | 16.1 x 12.6 x 1.05 inches |
Weight | 6.9 pounds | 9.3 pounds | 7.9 pounds | 9.32 pounds |
Gaming performance
As you can imagine, all of these laptops come packed with the latest specs, including Intel Core Ultra 9 CPUs and RTX 5090 GPUs. So, no matter the machine, expect high frame rates at maximum settings across the board.
That said, you'll find a couple that eke out more performance to deliver even stronger results. In our lab tests, we perform benchmarks in a number of popular PC titles, including Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth: Wukong and Assassin's Creed Shadows. These are heavy hitters on systems, and give us a good idea of the power a gaming laptop can dish out.
Using a baseline resolution of 1920 x 1080 and turning off Nvidia's DLSS 4 to get raw performance benchmarks over AI-enhanced frame generation, here are the results.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Razer Blade 18 | Alienware 18 Area-51 | MSI Titan 18 HX | Alienware m18 R2 |
Assassin's Creed: Shadows (Ultra High) | 62 | 61 | 54 | N/A |
Black Myth: Wukong (Cinematic) | 65 | 65 | 59 | N/A |
Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra) | 74.3 | 75.6 | 70.6 | 60.6 |
Take note, the games here are at max settings, so they're being pushed to the limit at 1080p resolution. Coming out on top, the Razer Blade 18 and Alienware 18 Area-51 are nearly neck-and-neck, depending on the title, while the MSI Titan 18 HX falls a tad behind, despite still bringing powerful results.
In pretty much all games, though, you can expect each laptop to be near or surpass 60 FPS, which is an incredibly mighty benchmark to achieve. That's especially true when comparing it to the Alienware m18 R2, which just manages 60 FPS but can reach the heights of the 70+ FPS the rest of this year's laptops deliver in Cyberpunk 2077.
Now, when turning on DLSS 4, expect frame rates to jump to well over 200 FPS, and that even includes when using the incredibly demanding path tracing in games like Cyberpunk 2077. Of course, frame rates will drop the higher the resolution is, but you can still expect ridiculously high numbers at 1440p, 1600p and 4K resolution (if the laptop allows it).
I mean, there's a reason why the Razer Blade 18 with its dual-resolution 18-inch display hits 240Hz at 4K. Either way, no matter what game you throw at these beasts, they'll run remarkably smoothly.
General performance
It isn't just the RTX 5090 GPUs pulling the weight, as these laptops also come with premium specs like the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 HX series CPUs, an incredible 64GB of DDR5 RAM and up to a whopping 6TB for storage. The standard is high, and the numbers reflect this.
The Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor in the MSI Titan 18 HX is Team Blue's fastest mobile chip, but the Core Ultra 9 275HX is still one of the top dogs. Interestingly, according to Geekbench 6 benchmarks, the 285HX slightly falls behind the 275HX silicon. Still, MSI's fittingly named Titan gaming laptop has an edge.
Benchmark | Razer Blade 18 (Intel Ultra 9 275HX / RTX 5090) | Alienware 18 Area-51 (Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX / RTX 5090) | MSI Titan 18 HX (Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX / RTX 5090) | Alienware m18 R2 (Intel Core i9-14900HX / RTX 4090) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Geekbench 6 single-core | 3127 | 3126 | 3046 | 2868 |
Geekbench 6 multicore | 20220 | 19899 | 22082 | 18035 |
Geekbench AI (ONNX GPU Quantized score) | 25483 | 20980 | 24010 | N/A |
Handbrake (transcoding 4K to 1080p - mm:ss lower is better) | 02:07 | 02:10 | 01:55 | 02:32 |
From the multicore performance to our Handbrake test, which measures how long a laptop takes to transcode a specific 4K video file to 1080p resolution, the MSI Titan 18 HX offers some of the highest numbers we've seen. CPUs have clearly seen a boost in performance over the past generation, as you can see with the Intel Core i9-14900HX chip in the Alienware m18 R2, leading to faster multitasking and handling demanding apps.
All that said, the Razer Blade 18 takes the crown as being the laptop with the most potential to handle AI tasks. Despite each machine holding the same mobile graphics card, the Geekbench AI GPU benchmark that measures AI performance shows the RTX 5090 in the Blade 18 wins.
These are no doubt powerful results, but you know what laptop offers similar benchmarks? MacBooks. Specifically, the MacBook Pro M5 and MacBook Pro M4 Pro. These aren't made for gaming (although they can), but thanks to Apple's mighty M-series silicon, these chips are already catching up or surpassing the results on these gaming laptops. Take a look at our MacBook Pro M5 benchmarks, and you'll find the M5 offers a Geekbench single-core score of 4288 and a multicore result of 17926, while the M4 Pro delivers 3910 and 22822, respectively.
Regardless, this also shows just how far gaming laptops have come, and we'll soon see even higher results in 2026 once we get our hands on Intel Panther Lake and Snapdragon X2 Elite CPUs in laptops.
Editor's pick
For the ultimate gaming experience (and productivity performance) a laptop can offer right now, each of these laptops we tested in 2025 will do the trick. They offer more than enough performance for power users, and thanks to their premium internals, it's safe to say these machines will keep up with the latest tech for years to come.
But if I had to choose one out of them all, it would have to be the Razer Blade 18 (2025). Yes, it's big and chunky, but its gaming performance is through the roof even compared to its competition, it boasts a dual-resolution 18-inch display with 4K at 240Hz and 1200p at 440Hz, it's uniquely upgradeable for RAM and storage (not that you'll need it at its highest configuration) and it's actually quite compact considering its size-class.
Now, this is all for top-end performance, and you'll be paying an absolute premium for it. At 5,199, this gaming laptop will be putting a massive dent in anyone's wallet. This one is for the power users who require the highest power in a desktop replacement-like laptop, and not everyone needs that kind of performance to play the latest PC games at high frame rates.
That's why we rate other laptops like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) and Lenovo Legion 5i among the best laptops to get, as they're far more affordable while still bringing high-end performance. At the very least, you can get the Razer Blade 18 for a whole lot less if you opt for more affordable specs.
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