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Claire Tabari

RTX 5080 reviews are in, and it could be bad news for gaming laptops

Nvidia GeForceRTX 50-Seriez.

The excitement surrounding Nvidia's RTX 50-series graphics cards has been growing with every passing month, but with early reviews dropping for the RTX 5080, many publications have been disappointed by its performance.

Nvidia's RTX 5080 and 5090 GPUs were officially launched on Thursday following their reveals during the January CES 2025 event. Reviews are looking mixed at the moment, highlighting only a marginal increase in graphics performance between generations. Considering these GPUs will soon be launching mobile versions for gaming laptops, we can't help but worry if the hype was all for nothing.

At the very least, the price drop between RTX 40 and RTX 50 generations might explain the GPU's lesser performance. However, given our current environment where laptops and gaming hardware may be up to 40% more expensive under Trump's new tariffs, you might still want to invest as soon as possible.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU faces disappointing reviews

Not every review of the RTX 5080 is one of disappointment, but a good few publications have expressed a similar sentiment in their analysis of the hardware.

Jacqueline Thomas of IGN claims in her review of the RTX 5080 that the weak boost in performance in both the 5080 and 5090 yields "one of the least substantial graphics generations in years." She also later claims that "it's not quite the performance uplift that hardcore enthusiasts who upgrade every generation are going to want to see." IGN's 4K tests show an 11% performance improvement from the RTX 4080 and only an 8% improvement in performance over the RTX 4080 Super.

Tom Warren of the Verge says "Nvidia's new RTX 5080 graphics card isn't as exciting as I was hoping it would be," while Jarred Walton of Tom's Hardware writes "It's not that the 5080 is bad, but it's underwhelming. It's not even able to match the previous generation 4090 in most tasks."

The negative impressions don't end, whether it's Dave James of PC Gamer calling the 5080 a "strangely unexciting graphics card" or Brad Chacos and Adam Patrick Murray Of PC World writing that it "delivers disappointing performance gains," many reviewers aren't particularly impressed.

Nvidia's RTX 50-series mobile GPUs featured in several soon-to-market gaming laptops at CES 2025, though judging by initial reviews of their desktop counterparts, it may not be the grand leap in performance that many were hoping for. (Image credit: Future)

Positive reviews mostly highlight the GPU's DLSS 4 capabilities and its value due to its price decrease between generations. After all, the RTX 5080 costs $999, while the RTX 4080 launched at $1,199. However, the RTX 3080 was significantly cheaper than both, with a launch price of $699.

John Loeffler of TechRadar writes that its price point and solid performance "makes the RTX 5080 a great value proposition for those looking to buy a premium 4K graphics card, as its price-to-performance ratio is very strong."

With an onslaught of mixed impressions of disappointed critics highlighting the GPU's lackluster leap in performance, what does this mean for gaming laptops? Can we expect it to occupy a similar space, mostly focusing on DLSS 4 with only marginal graphical improvements, but boasting better value?

It's a little more difficult to discern with a gaming laptop, as you're paying for the whole package rather than just a GPU. But if the RTX 5080 mobile GPUs only offer as small a boost in graphics performance as its desktop GPUs do, it would be great if it resulted in a less expensive package overall.

However, that might not even matter in the near future if Trump's tariffs go through.

Disappointing or not, it's probably best to invest as soon as possible

Reports from Ctee (via Wccftech) late last year suggested that Nvidia and AMD rushed the launch of their next-generation GPUs in an attempt to trump Trump's upcoming tariffs. After all, according to the CTA (Consumer Technology Association), prices of laptops could go up by as much as 46%, while video game consoles could rise by 40%.

All of this places Nvidia's RTX 5080 GPU as more focused on cost efficiency in perspective, as that might not matter very much if it ends up becoming significantly more expensive as a result of the tariffs.

It might be unnecessary to invest in a new GPU now if you're sporting a 40-series, especially since the RTX 5080 isn't much of an improvement. However, if you do need an upgrade, do it as soon as you can and don't hesitate.

Considering how intense the rumors of the impending RTX 50-series shortage are getting, alongside the prospect that future GPUs could get significantly more expensive, this new wave of GPU launches might very well be the last time you will find a reasonably priced graphics card.

The upcoming 50-series laptops will launch in March, and we hope it can beat the tariffs. If so, those in need of a new gaming laptop will want to jump on it as soon as possible.

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