The RTX 4090 laptop GPU uses the same die as the RTX 4080 desktop graphics card.
So then why do they have different names?
Is this just an attempt to mislead us?
I’ve compared both in 23 games at 4K, 1440p and 1080p resolutions to find out!
Both GPUs use the same AD103 die, so they’ve got the same amount of CUDA, tensor and RT
cores.
They’ve both got a 256-bit memory bus and 16 gigs of VRAM, but the desktop card uses
faster GDDR6X memory.
The desktop card also has a higher power limit, so it’s able to hit higher clock speeds
as a result.
So both of these technically have the same GPU inside, but the desktop card has faster
memory and it can use more power.
More power equals more heat, and I mean just look at the size of this thing.
The desktop card clearly has more space for cooling, it’s like twice as thick as the
- actually more like three times if not four times as thick as this laptop.
So yeah it’s no surprise that it’s able to use more power.
I feel like I could kill someone with this thing..
The RTX 4090 laptop GPU can actually run as low as 80 watts, and this graph shows the
difference in Time Spy graphics score at different power levels.
Maxed out at 175 watts, the 4090 laptop hits around 23,000 points, while the desktop card
was around 28,300 points.
A 23% higher score for the desktop, but it needs an 83% higher TDP to achieve this
To do this testing I’ve used MSI’s Titan GT77 laptop, which is capable of running the
RTX 4090 laptop GPU right up to 175 watts with dynamic boost, so it represents a best
case laptop 4090.
I don’t actually have the Titan here anymore, so it’s not sitting next to me, but this
is still a full powered 4090 laptop.
I didn’t actually test with this machine, it’s just here for show.
Along with the RTX 4080 graphics card, the desktop system has Intel’s Core i9-13900K
processor, which was chosen as it has the same amount of cores, threads and cache as
the laptop CPU.
I’ve also tested with 32 gigs of DDR5-5600 memory with the exact same timings as the
laptop.
There are always going to be differences between desktop and laptop parts, that’s just the
way it is.
But by using CPUs with similar specs and the same memory speeds, I believe I’ve been
able to reduce these differences as much as possible so that we can just focus on the
GPU difference.
The desktop card was using significantly more power than the laptop in two different games.
Control at 4K max settings was drawing 69% more power on the desktop, not so nice, while
Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K ultra settings was using 66% more power.
Despite using more power, the desktop card was running cooler.
Not really too surprising considering it’s got a far larger cooler stuck to it, but the
laptop wasn’t really that much warmer.
More power allows the desktop card to reach higher clock speeds in both games, but despite
the desktop card offering more performance, the laptop GPU actually wins in terms of power
efficiency.
This shows how many frames each system produces per one watt of power.
The laptop might not hit as high raw FPS numbers, but it’s doing better relative to its power
consumption.
Let’s get straight into the 23 game comparison, starting with Cyberpunk 2077.
I’ve got the 1080p results down the bottom, 1440p in the middle and 4K up the top, with
the laptop GPU below the desktop GPU.
At 4K the desktop GPU was reaching a 20% higher average frame rate, but remember that it was
using 66% more power in order to pull this off, and that’s why the laptop was more
power efficient.
I’ve also tested the higher ray tracing ultra preset, but as this is quite intense
I’ve also set DLSS to quality mode and enabled frame generation.
The desktop had a larger 25% lead at 4K now, but the laptop was still playable at above
60 FPS, assuming we count generated frames.
Microsoft Flight Simulator was close to 60 FPS on the laptop at 4K ultra settings, but
the desktop was 29% faster in this one.
This is a single player game where latency doesn’t really matter much, so if you wanted
to use DLSS and frame generation then these are the differences.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla had the smallest difference out of all 23 games tested at 4K,
where the desktop 4080 was only around 11%, or 9 FPS faster compared to the laptop 4090.
The difference in average FPS wasn’t that big in Dead Space either, with the desktop
card just 9 FPS ahead here too, a 17% lead in this case, but check out the 1% lows.
These measure the dips in performance, and the laptop’s 1% lows are way behind the
desktop’s at all three resolutions.
This behavior was also seen in DOOM Eternal at all resolutions, Forza Horizon 5, and Rainbow
Six Extraction.
It’s something I’ve noticed on a number of Intel 13th gen HX laptops in certain games,
and in many cases a lower core count 13700H actually ends up performing better, which
tells me that all 24 CPU cores might not be getting enough power in the laptop.
I might have to do a comparison with some E cores disabled to find out.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was tested with the game’s benchmark.
The 4090 laptop GPU was still well above 60 FPS at 4K max settings without upscaling techniques
like DLSS, not bad at all, and the desktop card was only 22% faster.
A Plague Tale Requiem had some of the biggest differences between the two at 4K, with the
desktop 30% faster, but it did feel a bit stuttery on the laptop.
Turning on DLSS and frame generation definitely made it play much nicer, but the desktop card
was of course still better than the laptop.
Alright the desktop 4080 graphics card was always beating the laptop 4090, you get it.
Instead of wasting your time talking through the rest of the 14 games that I’ve tested,
I’ll instead just quickly skip through the rest of the results on screen now, so feel
free to pause the video if you want a closer look at any of the other games tested.
I think it’s important to test a wide selection of games so that we can get an accurate picture
of the average performance differences to make the fairest possible conclusion.
In other words, more data equals more better.
Let’s look at those average differences next.
On average over all 25 games tested, at 1080p the RTX 4080 desktop GPU was about 24% faster
when compared to the RTX 4090 laptop GPU.
Basically this graph shows how much percent faster the 4080 desktop was in each game.
Things don’t change too much at the higher 1440p resolution.
The 4080 desktop card was still 24% faster compared to the 4090 laptop in our 23 game
selection.
The individual results move around a bit at the higher 4K resolution, but once we average
all 23 results together the desktop 4080 was still about 24% faster compared to the 4090
laptop.
Much the same as the 23% higher Timespy graphics score we saw earlier.
Just for comparison, when I recently compared the 4080 desktop card against a 4080 laptop
there was a much larger gap, with the 4080 desktop card performing 45% better in a similar
selection of games.
The 4080 desktop and 4090 laptop were definitely closer together, but the desktop still has
a clear advantage due to its faster memory, higher power limit and more room for cooling.
The difference was similar in content creator workloads like Blender, where the 4080 desktop
was scoring 24% higher than the 4090 laptop in the Classroom test.
The gap was smaller in V-Ray, with the 4080 desktop scoring 12% higher in the CUDA test,
and 11% higher in the ray tracing test.
Video editing with DaVinci Resolve had a higher 29% score with the 4080 desktop though.
So the desktop 4080 was better than a laptop 4090 in every workload, so what about the
price difference?
Prices and availability will change over time, so check the links below the video for current
updates and sales.
And speaking of sales, make sure you check out my website gaminglaptop.deals to get the
best deal on your next laptop.
We update it every day with the latest deals.
Right now we’re looking at around $3335 USD for a brand new PC with similar components
to what I’ve tested here.
Obviously you could get a cheaper motherboard, power supply, CPU cooler, case and less SSD
space to lower the price even further while getting similar performance in games, but
this is a similar configuration to what I’ve tested here.
I mean just getting the cheapest 4080 currently available instead would save you $200.
The cheapest RTX 4090 laptops seem to be a similar amount, but don’t forget these cheaper
options likely have lower GPU power limits and won’t perform quite as well compared
to the Titan, which is much more expensive at $5300 USD, and honestly kind of a rip off
compared to other great performing 4090 laptops out there.
Razer’s Blade 18 for instance also has a full powered 4090 and would still perform
well for $800 less, and that’s Razer we’re talking about, not exactly known for being
budget friendly.
The desktop setup is obviously winning from a cost per frame perspective.
It costs much less money while also offering more performance, granted the desktop would
cost more if you also need to add on a keyboard, mouse, or monitor, which have not been included,
and those are all built into the laptop.
You could argue the desktop has more future value too, because you could easily take out
the graphics card in a few years and upgrade the system.
Meanwhile you’d have to replace the whole laptop.
Ultimately for the most part, it’s going to depend on whether or not you need portability,
and how much you’re willing to pay to get maximum performance on the go.
The 4090 laptop does actually offer a nice gen-on-gen performance improvement compared
to the best laptops available last year, as shown in this comparison, but that’s not
the point.
The point is the confusing naming despite both of these having the same GPU die.
Hang on, this thing is too big, I don’t have enough room..
Anyway, it makes you wonder why they didn’t just name the 4090 laptop GPU a 4080.
Personally, I think this would have been a much better move, given they’re both using
the same AD103 die anyway.
Even if there are other differences over here like faster memory and more power.
Adding an “M” to the end and calling it a 4080M would have been icing on the cake.
Instead it looks like Nvidia have chosen to use the 4090 name to represent the best they’ve
got to offer.
So with this being the fastest laptop GPU currently available, it seems like they’ve
just given their best 4090 name.
And I can understand it from that point of view, but it doesn’t mean that I agree with
it.
You can’t deny that it would be far less potentially misleading for the consumer just
to have both of these named 4080 because they’ve got the same die inside.
But here we are and now you know the difference!
Check out more of my laptop vs desktop comparisons next.
I’ve compared the 4090 laptop against the 4090 desktop, and 4080 desktop against a 4080
laptop.
And as you’ll see, the performance differences are quite a bit bigger than what we’ve seen
in this video, because despite having the same names, there is actually a difference
in the GPU dies there.