Sony has announced its most powerful game console yet, the PlayStation 5 Pro, which is an updated model of the PlayStation 5 that was announced back in 2020.
Like the PS4 Pro before it, the PS5 Pro is aimed entirely at improving the graphical fidelity of its games, with three key new improvements towards that goal.
The first of this is an upgraded GPU. While it's still based on the same architecture, the PS5 Pro GPU now features 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory. Sony claims that these changes provide 45% faster rendering of games compared to the PS5.
The other...
Qualcomm has fallen into a pattern – launch a Snapdragon chip, then introduce a faster “+” variant and a cheaper “s” variant. There was the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 in late 2023, then came the beefy 7+ Gen 3 in March and, well, now an “s” model is on the horizon. It’s not official yet, maybe that will happen during Qualcomm’s big event in October. For now, we have this leaked slide that was shared by Evan Blass.
Focusing on the details at the bottom, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 will have a 20% faster CPU, 40% faster GPU and 30% faster NPU, while offering a modest 12% improvement in power...
Many people are familiar with PCs and Macs as the primary operating systems. While these are great, sometimes users may seek alternatives, especially those in programming or those who want a more open-source operating system that can be customized to their needs. Linux is often used for servers, IT professionals, developers, and other devices that must be operational for long periods.
But can the Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5 compete against some of the best Linux laptops we've reviewed? We put it to the test.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5: Unboxing & first impressions
Unboxing the Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5 Linux Laptop made me appreciate the durability and reliability that Kubuntu offers. This laptop is solid. It's not a cheap-feeling plastic; it is solid and could take some rugged and demanding work. The box includes the computer, a powerful 280W or 330W power adapter (depending on the GPU configuration), and essential documentation.
The laptop chassis is made of aluminum alloy for its quality and durability. The QHD display is immediately impressive with its vibrant colors and sharp resolution. This is something that I was happily surprised with, as I was expecting a lower-quality screen for some reason. The keyboard and touchpad feel responsive and well-built, with the option of customizable backlighting.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5: Design & build quality
Specs
as tested
Processor: Intel i9-14900HX (24 cores, 32 threads, up to 5.8 GHz) GPU: Nvidia RTX 4060 RAM: Up to 96GB DDR5 5200 MHz Storage: 1000GB 7450MBps Samsung Ports: HDMI 2.0b, Mini DisplayPort, 2 x USB-C 3.2 (with Thunderbolt 4), 2 x USB-A 3.2, Headset Audio Jack, Mic + S/PDIF Audio Jack, 2.5 Gigabit RJ-45 Ethernet
The M2 Gen 5 boasts an all-metal design with a premium finish. It can be used heavily without showing much wear and tear. Among the other laptops I am testing, it feels like a Cyber Truck. It looks different from the streamlined, minimalist design language the "other guys" are going for.
However, the device is relatively slim and lightweight compared to many of the best mobile workstations out there, making it portable without compromising on power. It's not made to be a slim notebook design. It's supposed to be a powerhouse workstation.
The hinge mechanism feels robust, and the overall build quality is excellent. As I mentioned, I can be more careful with this, and I'm worried that the laptop will fold, bend, break, or be damaged. The ports are firm and can withstand a heavy workload of plugging and unplugging without getting loose. Lastly, the keyboard is comfortable to type on. I may not want to write for hours and hours on this machine, but as a workstation, its keyboard is relatively easy to use and comfortable enough to get the job done.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5: In use
My first interactions with the Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5 were a bit problematic. I had issues with skipping, lag, and an overall slow UI. However, after some research and reaching out to Kubuntu, I realized this issue was due to a hybrid mode that I had allowed, which was helpful. Once I moved out of hybrid mode and into performance mode, I was gleefully surprised by how smoothly everything operated.
The performance across the board has been stellar. I've been able to knock out anything I've wanted to do with ease. As with all our tests for the best business laptops, my team and I tested this with light coding, 3D rendering, programming, and everyday business tasks.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
The laptop runs quietly under load. However, upon closing the computer, it usually does a quick fan burst to help cool and prepare for sleep. All around, the battery life is good. We got nearly 8 hours with moderate use, and thankfully, it charges with USB-C, just like everything else we have, so we could charge it up quickly with what charging bricks and stations we already have on hand.
Carrying this laptop around feels hefty, especially when working with super-thin laptops designed to be highly portable and light. What I was able to remind myself of, though quickly, is that Kubuntu is not trying to be the thinnest laptop on the market, designed to slip into a small bag or sling and not be seen; the goal of this laptop is to be a powerhouse, competing with other workstations, not thin laptops. With that in mind, this laptop is much more reasonably sized and scores better in overall footprint and weight.
(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)
The port offering on this laptop has been a huge pro, especially in the line of work people wanting this laptop would be in. There is no need for dongles, docks, or adapters, as this computer has nearly every port you need. Any ports that could run off the back of your computer and only be plugged in and not messed with, such as ethernet and HDMI, run off the back. The ports that would probably be messed with while working on something are all on the sides, making them easily accessible and easy to use. This workstation was designed for heavy-duty work and to do that work efficiently.
Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5: Final verdict
The Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 5 is an exceptional machine for those who need an all-around great Linux Workstation. Its quality components, excellent build quality, and robust port offering make it a top choice for professionals despite its higher price tag.
The past few years have seen the temperature quickly rise in the camera phone market. For many months in 2023, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ruled the roost, until the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, with its Leica-powered camera technology, came along to shake things up. The latter phone was usurped by the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra earlier this year, but now Xiaomi is back with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, a handset that proves Xiaomi's commitment to producing the best camera phone.
With four rear cameras and a front camera, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has everything you need, from super telephoto to ultra-wide.
Images are captured on a new 1-inch sensor that delivers a truly step-less variable aperture with intermediate stops between f/1.6 and f/4.0. This guarantees incredible results in low light and produces a level of detail that has never before been possible on a smartphone. The phone's sensor handles highlights equally well, with detail maintained even when you'd expect it to be blown out.
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
The quality continues with the phone's design. A high-strength aluminum frame and Xiaomi Shield Glass provide all the strength and protection required to stand up to day-to-day wear. The softness of nano-tech vegan leather on the rear helps to give a nice tactile experience, too.
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra's 6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED display with Xiaomi Shield Glass continues this thread of quality, offering a 3200 x 1440 pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate that's fantastic for watching videos and gaming.
One of my only gripes with this phone's design is that the weight of the rear camera notch makes it impossible to hold and operate with one hand. Annoyingly, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra kept tipping out of the top of my hand.
The performance of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is another one of its strengths. The phone's Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset is an impressive CPU with very few limitations, and enables apps to keep running with very little downtime.
All in all, then, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a fantastic phone. Whether it's worth the money will depend on how much you intend to use your phone for camera and video work. Considering some of the best beginner DSLRs can be picked up for a similar price, potential customers will need to weigh up whether they want their phone and camera in one package. If the answer is 'yes', then the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is hard to beat.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
Priced from £1,299
Released in the UK February 2024
Not available in US
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is available in the UK for a price of £1,299. This will give you storage of 16GB + 512GB, with no other options to choose from. This incredible camera phone is yet to be released in the US or Australia.
One of the 14 Ultra's direct rivals is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 512GB, which is currently retailing in the UK for £1,349 so Xiaomi's price is a little cheaper. A 25GB version of the S24 Ultra can be picked up for £1,249, which means the Xiaomi 14 Ultra sits squarely in the middle in terms of price.
This phone is very much for photography enthusiasts. If you don't need the next best camera phone but rather need a great everyday phone, then check out one of our best phones of 2024.
Value score: 4 / 5
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Specs
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Design
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
High-strength aluminium frame
Xiaomi Shield Glass
Nano-tech vegan leather
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is beautifully designed and engineered with some of the best materials seen on any flagship phone at the moment. The case is dominated by a sizable circular notch that protrudes out of the back. Inside are four amazing Leica cameras alongside a flash, with everything protected by strengthened glass.
There's no denying that it looks great but I have a couple of problems with it. The first is that I was scared of breaking it. The 7 or 8 mm protrusion means that every time you put your phone down, you're in danger of scratching the glass. This is not something you want to be concerned about, especially when the cameras are the main selling point of the phone.
The second problem I have with it is that it makes the top half of the phone significantly heavier than the bottom half. This wouldn't be a problem, save for the fact that it's almost impossible to hold the phone in one hand and type with that same hand. Every time I tried, the phone just flopped out of the top of my hand. Not great at all. I appreciate they will have wanted to keep the overall weight down but some extra weight towards the bottom would have helped to counter the issue.
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
Aside from the problematic notch, the overall design is actually incredibly nice. It's beautiful to look at and masterfully engineered. The phone is made from a brand-new 6M42 high-strength aluminium frame, Xiaomi Shield Glass, and next-generation Xiaomi nano-tech vegan leather.
It sounds impressive, and believe me, it is. I tried bending the phone, and it didn't budge a bit. The material choices not only keep everything safe but also increase durability. The strength represents a doubling of rigidity compared to the Xiaomi 13 Pro.
The back of the device is covered in a new material developed by Xiaomi called nano-tech vegan leather. It is resistant to both wear and dirt, increasing overall durability. At the end of my tests, which took around a month, there were no visible marks on it at all. Now, I think if you took a fingernail to it, you'd quickly scratch it but that's the payoff with a textured surface like this.
The power button and volume rocker are located on the right-hand side of the phone and are nicely positioned for easy access. The power button has a textured finish, which is a nice touch and helps users identify it without looking.
The device lacks a range of different colours to customise the user experience. Xiaomi has instead opted to only ship it in either black or white.
Design score: 4 / 5
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Display
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED with Xiaomi Shield Glass
3200 x 1440 px resolution (20:9 aspect ratio)
120Hz Refresh rate
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra boasts a gorgeous 6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED, which absolutely looks the part. The display is almost edge to edge, with pixels running right up to the point when the glass starts to curve off towards the aluminium edges. This is achieved by stacking multiple layers and thereby introducing the required flexibility at the edges. It works really well, and it blends seamlessly into the frame.
The display has 522 PPI and a 3200 x 1440 pixel resolution, which works out at a 20:9 aspect ratio. This is noticeably larger than the 2670 x 1200 resolution on the Xiaomi 14. I would love to have seen the resolution pushed up to 4K, especially for a phone that is labelled 'Ultra'.
The inclusion of an LTPO panel with a variable refresh rate significantly improves light efficiency and power consumption. The technology allows for refresh rates of anything between 1 and 120 Hz. The top end is perfect for gamers needing the quickest refresh speeds. It performs really well and delivers buttery smooth graphics, whatever you're using the phone for.
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
At 3,000 peak nits, the 14 Ultra delivers higher brightness even than the iPhone 15's Super Retina XDR OLED panel. At this brightness, the display is still visible in the brightest of environments.
All of this next-level technology is protected by Xiaomi Shield Glass. Xiaomi developed technology results in an interlocking structure through high-temperature sintering. This provides not only the necessary transparency but also superior strength and drop resistance. I had no concerns and was glad to see the glass survive a few knocks.
Display score: 4.5 / 5
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Software
(Image credit: Future)
HyperOS out of the box
Runs on top of Android 14
4 years of OS + 5 years of security updates
As with all of the Xiaomi 14 Series, the 14 Ultra takes on HyperOS. This is Xioami's new interface, which looks very much the same as its old OS, MIUI. To be fair, they have rebuilt it from the ground up, resulting in significantly more fluid and responsive transitions. These changes are most welcome, as MIUI was beginning to struggle on recent new phone releases.
The adoption of HyperOS is not all uneventful, though. One of the primary benefits is that it helps integrate the 14 Ultra into the wider Xiaomi ecosystem, including wearables, tablets, and now even their debut car.
The user experience is very different from almost all other Android phones, with Xiaomi ditching the long-established app drawer. This isn't particularly a problem, though, and if anything, it helps to simplify what can oftentimes be an over cluttered interface. One of the other big changes is that Xiaomi has followed swipe-down gestures found on iOS devices, with the top left and right corners delivering different results. I love that usability on my iPhone and it's great to see other phone manufacturers taking note.
(Image credit: Future)
As is the case with almost all Android phones, the 14 Ultra and its HyperOS include a lot of apps that could be considered bloatware. Unfortunately, this is not just the case for third-party apps; it has seeped into Xiaomi's homegrown apps too. I like to get rid of as many of these straight after setting up a new phone but Xiaomi doesn't allow for some to be removed, which is frustrating.
Before you think this is all going to be a big HyperOS bashing, there are some things that I love about it. One of the most significant ones is its gallery app, which integrates natively with Google Photos. This helps to keep your photos backed up without requiring much human intervention.
If you're interested in digging deep into everything that HyperOS offers, then Xiaomi has a dedicated page for all things HyperOS.
Software score: 4 / 5
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Cameras
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Main 50MP f/1.63-f/4.0 23mm focal length
Floating telephoto 50MP f/1.8 75mm focal length
Periscope 50MP f/2.5 120mm focal length
Ultra-wide 50MP f/1.8 12mm focal length
Front 32MP f/2.0 90° FOV
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is pretty impressive in most areas but here's where it gets really special. Quite simply, this is the best camera on any phone, ever. Let's take a look at why.
It all begins with an all-new Leica 1-inch sensor for the main camera. The 2023 model already had a very capable 1-inch sensor but the newer one provides a truly stepless variable aperture with intermediate stops between F1.63 and F4.0. Leica continues to dominate this area of the market and the results are stunning, with fantastic low-light performance and unrivalled image quality.
Above all, I was most impressed by the sensor's ability to handle such a wide dynamic range. Rather than blowing out highlights, it was able to sensitively control them and retain the necessary detail. It was the same story with the darker areas. Noise is also kept to a minimum in low-light areas.
Images were noticeably crisper and more vibrant compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which I was using for comparison shots. The latter were much flatter, which might be preferable to photographers wanting more colour grading control in post. The Xiaomi defaults to a Leica Vibrant profile but this can be swapped out for Leica Authentic. This seemed equally vibrant in my estimations.
Moving from inside to outside, the main camera system is located in a circular notch that protrudes out from the rear. This provides four different lenses, ranging from a 120mm periscope down to a 12mm ultra-wide. In between, there is a 75mm telephoto and a 23mm main.
All of these produce outstanding results but I was most impressed by the bokeh that all four lenses were able to generate. All of this is thanks to the next-level engineering that Leica has put into their lenses. The Bokeh is clean, predictable, and all generated in-camera.
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The telephoto and periscope cameras provide an almost unbelievable level of zoom, something that is rarely seen in mobile phone cameras. Having become accustomed to digital zooms that reduce detail and introduce noise, it's a breath of fresh air to be able to access such long focal lengths at the press of a button.
Pro mode on the rear camera makes it possible to change all the settings that you would expect to find on any DSLR, including aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and white balance. Providing this level of fine control could have led to an overwhelming interface but Xiaomi has done a fantastic job of making settings and dials incredibly user-friendly and intuitive.
The front selfie camera offers a lower but still impressive 32MP and is fixed at f/2.0. There is little to distinguish between the rear and front cameras, which is testament to what Leica and Xiaomi have achieved. Images from the front camera are as sharp as a pin and auto-focus is bang on every time.
Video quality is equally good, with 4K resolution possible up to 120 fps. Being able to slow footage down up to 4 times gives an impressive amount of flexibility when video editing in post. It is possible to increase the resolution to 8K but that does result in a drop in frame rate to 30 fps. Even though the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is primarily targeted at stills photographers, there is still plenty to attract amateur or indie videographers.
Camera score: 5 / 5
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Performance
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform
GPU: Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU
8GB of LPDDR5X RAM
The 14 Ultra follows in the footsteps of the Xiaomi 14 with the inclusion of Qualcomm's flagship mobile silicon Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This is an identical CPU to what is found in almost every flagship phone of 2024 including the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Find X7 Ultra, and the Magic6 Pro.
The CPU is boosted by a Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU to help with graphics processing. As a result, this is one of the most powerful phones on the market. Everything about this phone is quick, from the fingerprint scanner to app loading and switching.
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HyperOS manages performance like a pro, with power profiles that keep all your favourite apps under control. There is a dedicated 'performance mode' but I never came across a need for it.
With its 120 Hz display and powerful processors, the 14 Ultra is also sure to appeal to gamers. I didn't experience any performance drop outs and loading bars were few and far between. Game Turbo helps increase performance with the ability to prioritise networking latency, touch response input, and, of course, boost performance at the expense of power consumption.
Performance score: 4.5 / 5
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Battery
(Image credit: Future)
5000mAh (typ) battery
90W HyperCharge
80W wireless HyperCharge
The battery of the 14 Ultra is slightly beefier than the Xiaomi 14, with a 5000mAh chosen instead of the 4,610mAh. Wireless charging is also possible up to 80W, rather than only 50W. Wired charging still tops out at 90W but that was to be expected.
Advertised charging speeds are 33 minutes for wired and 46 minutes for wireless. I wasn't able to test the latter but the wired charging time is relatively accurate. Such quick charging times are incredible and will help ensure you're never out of juice for long. To get these speeds, you'll need to make sure 'boost charging speed' is activated in the phone's settings menu.
The phone offers four different battery modes, including performance, balanced, battery saver, and ultra battery saver. You can expect to enjoy two or even three days of average use from the battery. If you are regularly gaming or streaming videos, then this will naturally reduce in time.
There's also a really nice 'Battery check-up' feature that will not only tell you what can be done to increase battery life but also how much time you'll gain for each individual item. I found this incredibly helpful, especially when I had a low battery but couldn't get to a charging point.
Battery score: 4.5 / 5
Should you buy the Xiaomi 14 Ultra?
Buy it if...
You want an incredible camera The Leica-developed quad camera system is second to none at the moment, even outperforming Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra. It's 1-inch sensor is capable of handling low light and wide dynamic range like a pro.
You like premium build quality High-strength aluminium frame, Xiaomi Shield Glass, and nano-tech vegan leather all contribute to a strong and gorgeous looking phone.
You like Xiaomi's latest OS, HyperOS The Xiaomi 14 Ultra's hardware and software offer near-endless degrees of customisation and functionality. If you are happy putting in the time to fine-tune the settings, then you can benefit from a truly personal experience.
Don't buy it if...
You want a well-balanced phone The quad camera Leica notch on the rear of the phone is so heavy that it makes it very difficult to hold the phone and operate it with one hand. This is a significant design issue.
You like a lightweight set of apps
As is the case with most Android phones,HyperOS comes with a fair amount of bloatware across both third-party and first party apps. Unfortunately some of these are considered essential and therefore can't be uninstalled.
You want an affordable phone At £1,299, this is one of the most expensive phones around. If you're not interested in phone camera photography then there are a lot of other better and cheaper alternatives out there.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: Also consider
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has some clear strengths, but also some clearly-defined shortcomings. If you've got this far and think something else might be more your thing, why not consider one of these alternatives.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max If you want the absolute best phone but the Xiaomi 14 Ultra isn't what you're looking for, then check out Apple's biggest and best iPhone.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra The only camera to rival the Xiaomi 14 Ultra in the camera category is the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Alongside great optics, it also has great battery life, top-notch performance, and new AI features.
How I tested the Xiaomi 14 Ultra
(Image credit: Future)
Review test period: four weeks
Testing included: everyday use including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
I used the Xiaomi Ultra 14 as my primary phone for a number of weeks and was therefore able to get fully to grips with all of its features. My use extended to a number of apps and included web browsing and gaming.
With the camera being the standout feature, I also took it out on several trips, putting the cameras through their paces to see how they stacked up. I took a Galaxy S24 Ultra out on these trips, enabling me to make side-by-side comparisons of identical photos.
During my tests, I also paid careful attention to how the phone felt to use. Considering how much time we spend handling our phones, this is a vital part of any phone review. Using the phone for a variety of different tasks and scenarios has enabled me to build up a fuller picture of a typical user experience.
Featuring a Nvidia RTX 4050, 4060 or 4070 GPU and a large 16-inch, 165Hz display, the Legion 5i is built to push your gaming experience to the next level. The laptop is also very capable for daily productivity use and blends in at the office or Uni once you turn off the eye-catching RGB lighting. At 32 x 26 x 2.5 cm (0.99 x 14.16 x 10.33 inches) and weighing 2.3kg (5.1lbs), the 5i just makes it into the range of what I would consider as realistically portable, meaning that it slots into a larger backpack or laptop bag without too much fuss.
At the time of writing, the three Legion 5i GPU variants (4050, 4060 and 4070) are sold with the Core i7-14650HX or i9-14900HX CPUs, up to 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB or 1TB SSD. All three video cards use the full 140W power profile. The 5600MHz DDR5 RAM can be upgraded (the 5i supports 64GB) and is typically (but not always) installed as two DIMMs to give dual-channel performance. The 16-inch display has a 165Hz refresh rate and supports G-Sync, has a 2560 x 1600 resolution, a decent 350-nit brightness and displays an excellent 100% of the sRGB color gamut. There’s also a harder-to-buy 500 nits, 240Hz version of the display available in some regions.
Ports include a single HDMI 2.1 connection, one 10Gbps USB-C port with 140W power delivery and DisplayPort 1.4, a 10Gbps USB-C port with just DisplayPort, 3x USB-A 5Gbps ports (one with always-on power), Gigabit Ethernet, an SD card reader and a 3.5mm headset jack.
Lenovo has put a lot of work into the cooling system in the Legion laptops, and the lessons learnt on the high-end machines are replicated even on the affordable models. The result is one of the best-performing RTX 4070 gaming laptops I've tested – it even bests last year's RTX 4070 Legion 5 Pro in gaming results by up to 7%, and is quieter while doing so. This means the 5i can happily run all but the most demanding games over 100fps at the screen's native resolution without dropping quality too far, or push towards the full 165Hz refresh rate the screen is capable of at 1080p. The Legion 5i is also a very capable work machine, and thanks to the inclusion of 140W USB-C you can get near full productivity performance without having to lug the huge Lenovo power brick around. The 80Wh battery doesn’t give much time unplugged though and, even in efficiency mode, I struggled to get four hours of work done, or reach five hours of video playback.
The Legion 5i gives comprehensive yet easy-to-use control over fan speeds and performance modes – including overclocking. The keyboard and trackpad are both excellent, and the RGB lighting modes are fun but also easily customized. The 1080p webcam is reasonable but doesn’t do facial recognition, and there’s no fingerprint reader either, so logging in feels very dated. The speakers are pretty good (but could be louder) and the overall build quality of the 5i is quite nice, despite the chassis being partially built with plastic rather than metal.
While the Legion 5i hardware is top notch, evaluating the value proposition is made more complex by Lenovo’s choice to use constantly shifting pricing and large rolling discounts across different configurations. Lenovo also doesn’t stock all variants, and many are only available from third-party sellers. I certainly wouldn’t be paying the full list price for the Legion 5i, and I suggest waiting for a (frequent) sale before purchasing.
The Legion 5i display can fold through 180º to lay flat (Image credit: Future)
Lenovo Legion 5i: Price & availability
How much does it cost? Starting from $1,789.99 / £1,614.99 / AU$3,099
When is it available? It's available now
Where can you get it? You can get it in the US, UK, and Australia
At the full list price, the Lenovo Legion 5i doesn’t offer standout value, but at the various Lenovo (and third-party retailer) sale prices, it can be a great buy. Generally speaking, I find the best discounts are often direct from Lenovo, but of course it’s always worth checking your favorite retailer too.
Below is a table of the list pricing for the Legion 5i variants sold directly from Lenovo.
Value score: 4 / 5
Lenovo Legion 5i: Specs
Availability varies depending on location, but overall the Legion 5i has a large number of configurations available, although you’ll be hard-pressed to find them all directly from Lenovo. The Lenovo Product Specification Reference is a handy tool to check what variants are available for the Legion 5i.
In the US and UK, the most powerful 5i models include an i9-14900HX CPU, a RTX 4070 GPU, 32GB of RAM and the 500-nit, 240Hz display. While the same model is listed for Australia, at the time of writing it’s not actually available for sale anywhere.
Below is the specs list for the Legion 5i models available direct from Lenovo.
Specs score: 4 / 5
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The left side ports include USB-A, dual USB-C and 3.5mm audio (Image credit: Future)
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The right hand side of the laptop features dual USB-A, a microSD card reader, the webcam e-shutter switch and the Gigabit LAN port (Image credit: Future)
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The webcam is decent but does not support Windows Hello (Image credit: Future)
Lenovo Legion 5i: Design
Well-balanced hardware
Customizable lighting
Fold-flat display
The Legion 5i is a large laptop, but thanks to relatively slim screen bezels and a fairly smart design, it’s still what I would consider portable enough to be carried on the go everyday. That’s helped by Lenovo’s decision to include 100W USB-C PD charging, so you can leave the big power brick at home if you’re not going to indulge in gaming. (Note that the 5i supports 140W over USB-C with a special Lenovo charger – but more on that below)
The Legion 5i stands out with a display that can fold through 180º to lay flat. I love this design for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it means you can toggle the display upside down and share it with someone sitting across from you. Secondly, it makes it easy to use the laptop in your own unique way. For example, with the Legion 5i plugged into a second screen or dock, and using a keyboard and mouse, I liked to open the screen fully, and place the laptop in a vertical stand. That way the laptop screen is raised to the right level to be placed next to a second screen, plus it leaves the vents unobstructed and takes up very little desk space.
The Legion 5i includes a MUX switch for Advanced Optimus graphics switching. This means the laptop can optimize graphics performance and power use automatically based on need, without needing to restart when switching modes. This is a feature not seen on all mid-range gaming laptops, so it’s a great inclusion from Lenovo.
The Legion 5i includes a swappable vent cover (Image credit: Future)
The laptop display shell is made of aluminum, but the Legion 5i opts for plastic on the main chassis to save weight. This is a good choice overall, and the stiff plastic used doesn’t make the laptop feel any less capable of handling bumps or drops. The laptop is equipped with the Legion TrueStrike keyboard (full-sized, with numpad), that’s pleasant to type on thanks to the 1.5mm key travel and lack of bounce. The keyboard has customizable RGB 4-zone backlighting that can be used to add some bling, or toned down to muted colors (or white) if trying to blend in at the office or university.
The Legion 5i has most of the design elements I value in a gaming laptop, such as user-upgradeable RAM and storage. Port selection is also good, with dual USB-C that includes DisplayPort output on both, and USB-C charging on one. At 10Gbps, the data rate is a bit lower than I would like – in comparison the Gen 8 Legion 5i had 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4. You also get three decently fast 5Gbps USB-A ports, one of which has another feature I love – always-on charging, so you can use the laptop to top up the battery on other devices even when it’s off. It’s also nice to see HDMI 2.1 support (up to 8K), as well as Ethernet, a card reader and a 3.5mm headset jack. The ports are well located around the laptop, with plenty of spacing between them ensuring easy access. The HDMI port and USB-C DisplayPort modes are all driven from the Nvidia GPU, rather than the integrated GPU in the CPU.
The choice to include Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax 2x2) means the Legion 5i doesn’t have the absolute fastest networking, but is still relatively futureproof in terms of high-speed connectivity. The Legion 5i includes a privacy e-shutter on the webcam, but it’s not capable of facial recognition for fast Windows login. You don’t get a fingerprint reader either, and this means the Legion 5i feels a little behind the times when logging in – especially considering the price point. The 80Wh battery is decently sized but I’d much preferred to have seen a larger 99Wh battery – as is featured in some competitors – to help eke out a little extra time unplugged.
Design score: 4 / 5
The Legion 5i keyboard has 4-zone RGB (plus white) LED lighting (Image credit: Future)
Lenovo Legion 5i: Performance
Excellent gaming results
Cooler and quieter than average
Great CPU performance for workstation use
Lenovo Legion 5i: Benchmarks
Here's how the Lenovo Legion 5i performed in the TechRadar suite of benchmark tests:
3DMark: Speed Way: 3,098 Port Royal: 7,882; Time Spy Extreme: 6,279; Fire Strike Ultra: 7,201.
1080p video playback battery life: 4 hours and 54 minutes
I’ve tested a wide range of similarly priced laptops that use the RTX 4070 GPU and, generally speaking, for the same GPU thermal design power (TGP) and similar CPU / RAM spec, gaming results don’t vary a huge amount. But subtle differences in how manufacturers configure their CPU and GPU power profiles, as well as other design choices, can lead to consistent differences overall.
The Legion 5i control software includes three ‘modes’ – Quiet, Balanced and Performance – which vary the performance levels, as well as the amount of noise and heat created. You can swap between them with the function keys, and they’re also indicated by the color of the power button. Mode changes can also be automatically triggered by certain applications or games. There's also the option to do limited overclocking via the Lenovo control software.
Overall, the Legion 5i gets excellent results and is one of the top RTX 4070 performers I've tested. It’s also very stable, and I had no glitches or strange behavior from the Lenovo software, or problems running any games, benchmarks or applications. The Legion 5i has well-designed power and fan profiles that can help tame the noise while still giving high frame rates. The 5i also has more than enough cooling capacity to keep the GPU working hard without hitting excessive temperatures, and still have headroom for the CPU.
The RTX 4070 is well-equipped for 2560 x 1600 gaming, and can run most games at very playable frame rates without dropping back the details. For especially demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, set to ultra ray tracing and high texture detail, the Legion 5i manages 54fps, but that can be bumped up to 69fps (with no loss of playability) if DLSS frame generation is turned on. At 1080p with the same settings, the 5i gives 119fps with DLSS on, or around 68fps with it off. Drop back to (still very playable) low ray tracing and detail settings with DLSS on and you can push Cyberpunk 2077 to 158fps – near to the limits of the 165Hz display.
At full pelt the Legion 5i is dumping 160W+ of heat, so it’s not exactly quiet, or cool. Still, the laptop is easily the quietest 16-inch RTX 4070 (140W) model I’ve tested. Importantly the Lenovo engineers have done a great job of cutting out the more annoying higher-pitched noise from the fans, and it sounds closer to a whooshing roar than a vacuum cleaner. It also helps that the noise (and the heat) is directed out the rear, rather than the sides, so isn’t as obvious. That said, you will still want to be using a headset when gaming – especially as the laptop speakers aren’t the loudest.
The Legion 5i does a great job of keeping the heat generated away from the user. The air inlets are located underneath and vented out the rear, so there isn’t a stream of hot air on your hands. At Lenovo Innovate 24, I also got to see first hand how the cooling system is put together, and it has a focus on keeping heat away from areas such as the underside of the keyboard. This is reflected in my testing, where the hottest part is the rear vents and, even after an intense gaming session, the trackpad only peaked at 26ºC / 78.8ºF, the keyboard at 37ºC / 98.6ºF and the underside was 35ºC / 95ºF. Overall this is a great result, and lower than average for this class of laptop.
The Legion 5i software gives control over key settings (Image credit: Future)
The powerful Legion 5i cooling system also means the CPU can work to its full potential – making it a very competent workstation when not gaming, and it’s well suited to heavy workloads such as video editing. As a comparison, the i7-14650HX in the Legion 5i has about 30% higher performance than an Intel Ultra 9 185H in heavy multithreaded loads.
Everyday performance on battery is top notch, and most of the time it feels exactly the same as if plugged in. Performance is reduced under heavy loads (or if gaming) of course, because the CPU and GPU are both limited to 50W each when on battery power. For CPU-heavy tasks I saw up to a 30% drop in performance, while gaming suffers a similar reduction in frame rates compared to being plugged in – and only lasts for 57 minutes before the battery runs out!
The Legion 5i can also be run on or charged from USB-C. Using a normal PD charger, the 5i takes up to 100W (20V/5A) and, to get the full 140W, you need a Lenovo USB-C charger capable of non-PD spec compliant 20V/7A. This means a normal 140W (28V/5A) USB-C charger (or power bank) will only charge the 5i at 100W. None of this is an issue real-world as the Legion 5i gives solid performance on USB-C, and happily uses the full amount of power available. Performance on USB-C is similar to running on battery, though the power profiles prioritize the CPU over the GPU. This means workstation use remains snappy when running on USB-C (such as when plugged into a dock) or if charging from a power bank, but don’t expect to do much more than casual gaming without the main Lenovo PSU.
Performance score: 4.5 / 5
The 230W PSU for the Legion 5i is slim but large overall (Image credit: Future)
Lenovo Legion 5i: Battery life and Charging
4 hours and 1 minute of regular use when unplugged
4 hours and 54 minutes of video playback
57 minutes of gaming
The Lenovo Legion 5i uses an 80Wh battery, which is decent sized but not quite as good as the 99Wh featured in some competing models. And, to be fair, the Legion 5i is a powerful gaming machine, so battery life is not the highest priority.
Still, 4 hours or so of work unplugged (and around 30 minutes longer if just browsing the internet or watching YouTube videos) is enough to be useful, but still not a great result overall. In contrast, other gaming laptops I've tested with similar spec hardware (including more powerful CPUs) give over 8 hours of video playback with a 99Wh battery. Adjusted for the Legion 5i 80Wh battery, I would expect over 7 hours from the Legion 5i.
When comparing online to other battery-life tests, the results vary widely – from similar results to mine, all the way to video playback of well over 8 hours. This suggests the hardware can be efficient, but the drivers and software are not always switching to less power-hungry modes, and it might take time (and a few software updates) to give a consistent experience.
On the plus side, the Legion 5i offers extra-fast charging and, using the AC PSU, it can top up to 30% battery capacity in just 10 minutes or reach 70% in 30 minutes. In my testing the laptop had no trouble achieving this charge rate – though of course it needs the large PSU to make this happen.
The PSU is pretty chunky and weighs almost a kilogram just by itself, so it’s not great to lug around day to day. Fortunately USB-C charging is not much slower and I found the laptop could reach 50% charge in around 30 minutes, and 70% charge in under 50 minutes. The Legion 5i also charges well from a power bank and is reasonably efficient – though you will need a big 27,000mAh (99Wh) power bank to give the laptop a full charge.
Battery Life and Charging score: 3.5 / 5
Should you buy the Lenovo Legion 5i?
Buy it if…
You want excellent gaming performance in a relatively portable package The Legion 5i isn’t exactly tiny, but considering the large 16-inch screen and full performance GPU, it’s still pretty good for carrying every day.
You want CPU performance The i7-14650HX (or mighty i9-14900HX) CPU combined with the Lenovo cooling system gives high-end performance for workstation or creator use.
You want to use it for more than just gaming Excellent USB-C performance and the fold-flat screen mean the Lenovo is also a great option for everything that isn’t gaming.
Don’t buy it if...
You want a very portable gaming option The Legion 5i isn’t too heavy or thick, but if portability is a prime concern, then consider the Lenovo Legion Slim 5. It has a very similar spec but in a slightly thinner, lighter chassis and is also available in a 14-inch model.
You want a more powerful GPU The Legion 5i is available with a RTX 4070 or below. If you want the RTX 4080 or 4090, you need to look at the Legion Pro 7i or Legion 9i laptops.
You want a very affordable laptop The Legion 5i is a great-value machine (when discounted), but it’s still a mid-range model. If you crave affordable RTX 4050 and 4060 focused gaming, check out the Lenovo LOQ series.
Lenovo Legion 5i: Also consider
If my Lenovo Legion 5i review has you considering other options, here are some more gaming laptops to consider:
Asus Zephyrus G16 The G16 has the same 16-inch form factor as the Lenovo Legion, though is a bit slimmer and lighter if portability is more important than maximum performance.
Gigabyte Aorus 16X Another powerful 16-inch gaming laptop that’s sold with either a RTX 4060 or RTX 4070 GPU, and it gave excellent benchmark results in our testing.
Acer Predator Helios 18 Want a bigger screen and more powerful GPU? The Acer Predator Helios 18 is worth a look – while normally very pricey, it can be decent value when discounted.
I used it both on a desk, and put it in a backpack for travel
I used it for gaming, as well as office productivity work and video editing
I ran the Lenovo Legion 5i through the usual comprehensive array of TechRadar benchmarks, as well as using it for actual day-to-day work at a desk and on the go. I used the TechRadar movie test for assessing battery life during video playback, and a range of productivity battery benchmarks to further gauge battery life. I also logged power use in a variety of scenarios, including when charging from USB-C, and tested the laptop with a variety of USB-C chargers and power banks.
Earlier this year, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (Golden Rabbit Edition), initially exclusive to China, emerged as a formidable mid-range GPU contender upon its global release. It not only competes directly with the Nvidia RTX 4070 in terms of price but also rivals the performance of the 4070 Super.
ASRock Steel Legend's version of the RX 7900 GRE retains all the features we appreciated and found lacking in the GPU. This includes 16GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit memory bus, 80 AMD RDNA 3 compute units with RT and AI accelerators, 64MB of AMD Infinity Cache technology, and support for Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate.
Priced at $549 (£568.44/AU$1,025), the ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE stands out as one of the best versions of AMD's mid-range GPU.
As with many GPUs from the Taipei, Taiwan-based manufacturer, it includes several appealing extras. Customizable RGB lighting is available through ASRock’s Polychrome RGB Sync app.
The metal backplate not only enhances durability but also adds a sleek look to custom desktop setups. For cooling, it features a triple-striped axial fan with 0dB silent cooling and an Ultra-fit heat pipe for efficient heat dissipation.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
The ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE boasts higher core (1972MHz) and boost (2,333MHz) clock speeds compared to the version we reviewed last February. While this might yield a slight performance boost, the primary benefit lies in enhanced GPU durability. Buyers can enjoy added visual flair with customizable RGB lighting and an improved cooling solution, all without the concern of accelerated wear on their GPU.
Installation is straightforward, featuring PCI Express 4.0 support and requiring two 8-pin power connectors for its 260W power demand. The card includes three DisplayPort 2.1 ports and one HDMI 2.1 port.
Users will need to download the AMD Software Adrenalin Edition driver for optimal performance. Additionally, ASRock provides the ASRock Tweak 2.0 software for performance tuning and fan control adjustments.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
This version of the RX 7900 GRE delivers nearly identical performance, making it ideal for 1440p native resolutions and entry-level 4K gaming, depending on the game. Gamers who also use their desktops for content creation can seamlessly edit high-resolution photos in Photoshop and videos in Premiere Pro without any issues.
Starting with Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga, considered a high visual benchmark in gaming, we tested at 1440p native resolution with max settings and ray tracing, achieving frame rates between 30-45 fps. Enabling AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) at a balanced setting boosted frame rates to 60 fps and above.
While FSR isn't as refined as Nvidia’s DLSS, with some noticeable ghosting issues, the RX 7900 GRE’s larger VRAM can provide better performance for GPU-intensive games.
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Motorsport (2023) also saw respectable frame rates at max settings. Aspiring competitive gamers will definitely be able to get higher 100+ frame rates on games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Counter Strike 2 and Fortnite too.
The ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE is an enhanced version of an already impressive mid-range GPU. It features customizable RGB lighting, a robust metal backplate, and an efficient cooling system with 0dB silent cooling. This makes it an ideal choice for budget-conscious gamers looking for outstanding 1440p performance.
The ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE is now available in the U.S., UK, and Australia for $549 (£568.44, AU$1,025). It can be purchased from online retailers like Amazon and Newegg.
Priced $50 lower than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super, the RX 7900 GRE offers 16GB VRAM compared to the 4070 Super’s 12GB, providing a slight advantage for 1440p gaming at native resolution.
However, the 4070 Super excels in Ray Tracing and AI upscaling, enhancing games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake II.
ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE: Specs
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Should I Buy ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE?
Buy the ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE if…
You require fantastic 1440p performance The ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE is a 1440p beast with the ability to get some good performance out of 4K as well.
You need a GPU to make your desktop’s fly The GPU looks great including the metal back panel and customizable RGB lighting.
You want good cooling components and quiet fans Alongside the triple fan design that’s pretty quiet even when under stress, the ultra-fit heat pipe really goes a long way of keeping components cool.
Don’t buy if…
You need the best ray tracing and AI upscaling Compared to NVIDIA’s 4070 Super, the RX 7900 GRE can’t keep up with ray tracing performance and AI resolution upscaling through DLSS.
ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE: ALSO CONSIDER
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super Not only can it handle 1440p resolution just as well as the RX 7900 but excels at ray tracing and AI upscaling.
I used the ASRock Steel Legend RX 7900 GRE on my main computer for two weeks, playing games like Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, and Forza Motorsport (2023). I also created video and photo content with Photoshop and Premiere Pro. With specs similar to the RX 7900 GRE we reviewed earlier this year, except for the additional 212Hz boost clock, the benchmarks were almost the same.
I’ve spent the past several years covering laptops and PCs, monitors, and other PC components for Techradar. Outside of gaming, I’ve been proficient in Adobe Suite for over a decade as well.
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
The HP Omen Transcend 14 (2024) is almost everything I want out of the best gaming laptops lineup: sleek, stylish, portable, comfortable to type on, and offering more than enough gaming performance for modern games at 1080p, all for a pretty reasonable price tag.
Its 120Hz OLED display in particular is a jaw-dropper and made me realize what I’m missing out on with my usual IPS monitor. The Transcend 14’s classy, portable design made me feel at ease taking it out to work. And it offered enough gaming performance to keep me gaming from the comfort of my bed rather than in my office on my gaming PC.
There are a couple of pain points with the Transcend 14, though. First, its battery life is seriously bad. Second—and admittedly this might only be a problem for those like myself who like to pretend they’re “competitive” gamers—it has a 16:10 aspect ratio display, which means you see less on the horizontal axis while playing first-person shooters. I could find no easy fix for this, as enabling 16:9 resolutions with black-border GPU scaling proved difficult.
Despite this, for casual or non-FPS gaming, this laptop is stylish, comfortable, and performs well enough that it would certainly be in the running for becoming my own personal gaming laptop. Its GPU is a little underpowered (even with a 15W boost in the Omen software) compared to similar laptops, but not enough to detract from the value offered by the Transcend 14’s stellar design, cooling, and display.
So, if you’re fine with these battery life, resolution, and GPU caveats, I can happily recommend the HP Omen Transcend 14, though I’d personally struggle to pick between it and the 2024 version of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (or maybe a bigger laptop altogether, given 14-inch displays are quite small).
HP Omen Transcend 14: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
How much does it cost? Starting at $1,689 / £1,449 (about AU$2,450)
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US and UK (Australia release unknown)
The Transcend 14 sits smack-bang where I hope many more laptops will sit as time goes on: in the mid-range OLED segment—“mid-range,” of course, always sounds a little tongue-in-cheek when we move past $1,500.
Three things make this laptop stellar value for the money: its mainstream gaming performance, sleek and portable design, and gorgeous OLED display. For $1,819 for the 1TB RTX 4060 version, you’re getting a pretty great deal.
Its main competitor is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024), which also looks great, is portable, has a lovely 120Hz OLED screen, has similar specs, and costs roughly the same at MSRP. The main difference between the two right now seems to be that the Transcend 14 is frequently selling for much cheaper than its MSRP.
The Razer Blade 14 (2024) is an alternative, too, but costs a fair amount more for a version with similar specs. For that mark-up, you get an even better chassis (which is saying a lot) and better performance thanks to higher GPU power limits. But you don’t get that beautiful OLED screen, which is no little thing.
Value: 4 / 5
HP Omen Transcend 14: Specs
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
The Omen Transcend 14 (2024) comes in three main configurations, although you can customize it a little beyond these configs. The main choice to make is between a model with a Core Ultra 7 155H with RTX 4050, a Core Ultra 7 155H with RTX 4060, or a Core Ultra 9 185H with RTX 4070.
Beyond this, you can configure a few things. In the US, you can save $90 by opting for a 512GB SSD instead of a 1TB one, taking the base config down to $1,599, or pay an extra $140 for a 2TB SSD. You can also pay an extra $40 for a Wi-Fi 7 card, and you can pay extra for single-zone RGB or a white chassis.
You can also choose to pay an extra $150 to have a HyperX Cloud III Wireless headset included (which automatically pairs with the laptop). Apart from this, there’s the usual slew of Operating System, warranty, and software customizations to choose from.
HP Omen Transcend 14: Design
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Gorgeous 120Hz OLED display with vibrant colors and deep blacks
“Pudding-inspired” keycaps on a springy keyboard that feels great
The Omen Transcend 14 looks and feels more like a modern portable work laptop than a gaming laptop, and that’s a good thing, in my book. HP is clearly going for more of a MacBook-style design than a decked-out gaming aesthetic, and for the price, it sure as hell delivers.
This 14-inch machine is light, weighing 3.59lb, and slim, too, at just 0.7 inches thick. Crucially, it manages to walk the line between portable and sturdy, being super easy to sling in a backpack and take to the café without feeling like you might break it while doing so. There’s a slight flex to the display, but nothing concerning.
What’s more, it offers all this in a crisp, understated design—understated for a gaming laptop, that is. And while the “shadow black” style of Transcend 14 I received looks gorgeous, the “ceramic white” one looks even better. You can get the latter version for just $15 extra, which is worth it in my opinion.
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Apart from this, the Transcend 14’s OLED display is probably its main selling point. If you’ve never gamed on an OLED monitor before, it’s hard for me to explain just how stunning the dark blacks and vibrant colors look. Combine this with its 120Hz refresh rate and you have a phenomenal gaming display. It’s just a shame it doesn’t come with full-fledged GSync or FreeSync.
It takes a lot to impress me in the keyboard department, given I’m very used to my own custom mechanical keyboard, but the Transcend 14’s semi-chonky keyboard did impress. I used this laptop as a daily driver for a few days and found it an absolute joy to type on. Its “pudding-inspired” HyperX keycaps look great, and the keys feel nice and springy. The trackpad’s nice and tactile, too, and is centered (thank God), just like it should be.
I’m no fan of RGB, but if that kind of thing’s your jam, you’ll be pleased to hear it comes with four-zone RGB. Or, if you’re happy paying an eye-watering $80 extra, you can get per-key RGB. Colors, effects, and the like can all be customized in the HP Omen software.
One thing that slightly disappointed me about the Transcend 14 is its selection of ports, especially given the rear USB-C port essentially acts as a dedicated charging port. For multiple USB devices, you’ll want to pick up a USB hub. Still, there should be just enough ports here for most use cases, including for connecting an external mouse and keyboard.
Design: 5 / 5
HP Omen Transcend 14: Performance
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Reasonable 1080p gaming performance
GPU is power-limited, even after enabling 15W boost
Great performance for such a slim, cool, quiet, and reasonably-priced laptop
The Omen Transcend 14 keeps up with modern titles at 1080p, but starts to struggle at higher resolutions. However, gaming at 1080p on medium settings looks fantastic on its OLED display, and frankly, you don’t need a higher resolution on a 14-inch monitor anyway. During my time gaming on this laptop, I found that whether I was playing Metro Exodus, Overwatch 2, Doom Eternal, V Rising, Satisfactory, or Vampire Survivors (you know, to really put the laptop through its paces), it was more than up to the task.
During the starting area of Metro Exodus, the Transcend 14’s RTX 4060 pulled over 100fps on Extreme settings at 1080p with DLSS enabled, and not much less than that with it disabled. Risk of Rain 2 had me at a smooth 80fps even at higher resolutions, and Overwatch 2 averaged well over 120fps.
However, my real bugbear is that while the Transcend 14 display’s native 16:10 aspect ratio makes it more useable for casual gaming and general use, it’s not great for competitive gaming because you lose out on some horizontal real estate in games.
Using 16:9 compressed everything, making the game look stretched vertically. So, I tried to get it working with black borders. However, because the laptop runs a hybrid GPU setup (switching from its Intel Arc GPU to its RTX 4060 when needed), there was no GPU scaling option in the Nvidia Control Panel. I couldn’t get it working via the Intel Graphics Command Center, either.
The only way I could run a game at 16:9 with black borders was to change the resolution in Windows Settings and then play it in borderless windowed mode, which feels like more of a hacky workaround than anything else and, at any rate, introduced more input latency than when playing fullscreen (And trying to get 16:9 working in Counter Strike 2 just straight-up crashed the entire system.)
If you’re not picky about 16:9 FPS gaming like me, the Transcend 14 performs well enough for casual gaming today. You can expect about 60fps in most good-looking games at 1080p, and if you enable DLSS, FSR, or XeSS you can really make the most of the OLED display’s 120Hz refresh rate.
There’s also an option to boost max GPU power by 15W (from 65W to 80W) in the Omen Gaming Hub software. I found that enabling this boosted the GPU clock from 1965MHz to 2190MHz, and from 113fps to 131fps, at 1080p during the opening portion of Metro Exodus.
Unfortunately, though, even this 15W boost doesn’t quite put the Transcend 14’s performance in line with some similar-specced 14-inch laptops. Instead, it sacrifices a little gaming performance for a portable design, cooler thermals, quieter fans, and a lower price.
If we’re talking general work use, the laptop performs great—with one caveat. I found, for whatever reason, things got laggy when downloading files while on battery power. Even typing in Notepad was slow. As soon as I plugged in the mains or stopped downloading, it was fine. Just a peculiar heads up.
Performance: 3.5 / 5
HP Omen Transcend 14: Battery life
Atrocious battery life
Even with power-saving settings, expect fewer than 6 hours for light tasks
The Transcend 14 has a 71Wh battery, and in practice I found it to offer worse battery life than many other gaming laptops. In our PCMark 10 Battery Life test, we found it to give less than an hour of game-time on battery power, and this seemed to bear out in my day-to-day testing. For gaming, then, you’ll really want to have this thing plugged in via the rear USB-C port (which offers faster charging than the side port).
I got 5 hours and 45 minutes of seven-tab Chrome office work out of the Transcend 14, so don’t expect to get a full 8 hours of work done without charging it. To be clear, this was with the Omen Hub’s Eco Mode enabled, Windows power efficiency mode turned on, brightness turned low (but still clearly visible), and RGB lighting turned off.
In all, its battery life is disappointing, but it’s enough to crank out a few hours of work on-the-go, or half an hour of unplugged gaming here and there. And thankfully, it charges quickly using the rear port.
Battery Life: 2 / 5
Should you buy the HP Omen Transcend 14?
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Buy the HP Omen Transcend 14 if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider
How I tested the HP Omen Transcend 14
I tested the HP Omen Transcend 14 (2024) for several weeks
I tested it using benchmark tests, video game benchmarks, and doing day-to-day gaming and office work
I used Nvidia FrameView to capture in-game framerates
For the first week, I got used to the laptop. I treated it as if I’d just bought it for myself, unboxing it, downloading my favorite games, and making use of it day-to-day. I made notes of any positives and negatives that came to mind. Then, I got to testing.
I ran benchmarks for tons of different use cases, noting the results. Finally, I tested some specific things I was curious about. Namely, the 16:10 vs 16:9 issue, and office work battery life tests. I also took the laptop out with me to work, to test its portability.
The HP Omen Transcend 14 (2024) is a gaming laptop, and is ideal for gaming even in more demanding titles (provided it’s plugged in and not running on battery power), but it can also be used as a work laptop. I used it for my own work and found its portability and design to both look and play the part, and its keyboard was a delight to use. Unfortunately, its battery life wasn’t amazing.
I’ve spent the past few years testing and reviewing all kinds of PC components, peripherals, and devices, including gaming laptops. I know how to test them properly, be objective and make accurate inferences from test results, and, probably more importantly, I know how to treat my devices like an end-user would, cutting the wheat from the chaff and getting to what’s most important to average PC gamers.
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
HP’s Spectre Foldable 17 is, on the surface, an interesting device. If you were to look at the product page or any of the marketing material for the Foldable 17, no doubt you’d be impressed with the folding OLED panel, its crisp resolution, and the insane versatility that comes with it.
That magnetic keyboard, shifting the display up and altering the resolution automatically, and the fact you can use it as a fully-fledged all-in-one PC, or a 17-inch tablet at the drop of a hat, is no word of a lie – and incredibly enticing. But really, that’s all a mirage, a ghostly silhouette of what – at its core – is a significantly flawed product.
Right now, there’s one spec available for the HP Spectre Foldable. It’s priced at $5,000 retail in the US (£4,850 in the UK, or AU$8,499 in Australia), and features an Intel Core i7-1250U processor, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM (running at 5200MHz), a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 94.3Wh battery.
That’s honestly all there really is to say about it. You get a pen, a USB dock, along with a (fairly average) detachable Bluetooth laptop substitute keyboard-and-mouse-combo-thing, and that’s it. And it’s the hardware that really drives the nail into the coffin.
Yes, the screen is good – it’s a beautifully crisp OLED panel that recreates colors to an exceptional degree. It’s stunning to look at, bright at 500 nits, and can even shift its resolution from 1,920 x 2,560 to 1,920 x 1,820 depending on how you position that keyboard. But, here’s the thing: you’re paying effectively $5,000 for a screen with a bit of hardware attached. And that hardware doesn’t perform as well as laptops that are a fifth the cost of this HP offering. Huawei’s MateBook D 16 for example, or Dell’s XPS 13 Plus, or literally any other laptop really, will outperform this device. And that’s a problem.
If all you need is a laptop to edit documents on (and I’ll caveat that with “not large spreadsheets”), watch a bit of Netflix, and stream a touch of YouTube, then yes the HP Spectre Foldable will fit the bill. Yes, you can technically use it as an all-in-one or a tablet to do that as well, but then you’re paying $5,000 for that privilege when, to be frank, you could probably get as much, if not better, performance out of an OLED TV for half the cost.
HP Spectre Foldable 17: Price and availability
Windows still isn’t quite set up for tablets as well as it should be (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
How much does it cost? $5,000 / £4,850 / AU$8,499
When is it out? It’s available right now
Where can you get it? In the US, UK, and Australia
The price for the HP Spectre Foldable 17 is eye-watering. There is only one model available, priced at $5,000, or £4,850 in the UK, or if you live in Australia, AU$8,499.
This device goes by different names dependent on the region (Foldable in the US and Australia, or just Fold in the UK), but they are effectively the same model. All of them feature that 17-inch OLED panel, 16GB of soldered LPDDR5 RAM, and an Intel Core i7-1250U at their heart.
As to where you can buy the Spectre, the places to go are Amazon and Best Buy in the US, Amazon in the UK, and the HP store directly in Australia. There’s another big problem with the price, though, and that’s the fact that the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED exists, certainly in the UK anyway.
On paper, and to be honest, even at a quick glance, these two products are pretty much identical. The one difference being the Zenbook 17 Fold comes in (for the exact same spec) at a much lower £3,299 as standard (although we’ve seen it as low as £2,299). You can buy the Asus Fold in the US, but only from eBay sellers at this point, for similarly low prices.
Value: 1.5 / 5
HP Spectre Foldable 17: Design and Features
HP’s auto-keyboard detecting tech shifts the screen resolution depending on where you place the keyboard (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
Beautiful display
Materials are solid
Port selection is disappointing
So we’ve established that this is a premium product. The Foldable certainly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to that price tag, but the same can’t quite be said for the overall design, however.
Let’s start by addressing the good points. That OLED display is incredible. As standard it’s a 17-inch foldable screen that comes with a 2.5K resolution, 500 nits of brightness in HDR mode, and a ton of the usual features (including low blue light and brightview modes). It packs 1.07 billion colors into that array and produces a phenomenal 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio to back it up.
It is only a 60Hz panel, however, unlike some of the OLED screens now available, so it’s not quite as buttery smooth as some of the competition with fixed-screen displays. However, we have seen bendable OLED panels go well beyond 60Hz, with Corsair’s Xeneon Flex being perhaps one of the better examples of what’s possible with the tech in terms of refresh rate at least.
The real party trick, however, is that fold, and how it incorporates into the design of the device. Namely, this isn’t technically one product. It’s a laptop, an all-in-one PC, and a tablet, depending on how you configure it. In the rear of the unit, there’s a kickstand that you can fold out to turn the Foldable into a pure 17-inch screen. You can then use the keyboard-trackpad combo to operate it like a standard desktop PC. Or alternatively, drop that kickstand, and convert it into a 17-inch tablet instead.
Create a slight bend in the screen and place it on your desk, then attach the keyboard to it (via the power of magnetism), and you’ve turned it into a laptop. Interestingly, with laptop mode HP has some nifty software installed that detects the keyboard’s position, and adjusts the screen size and resolution accordingly, depending on where you place the keyboard, which is pretty neat.
Rotation is supported as well: you can rotate the entire unit horizontally, one way or the other, and the display will twist to the correct orientation accordingly (although bear in mind that kickstand only works one way). In portrait mode, however, you are limited to one orientation.
That is mildly awkward, as this does place one of the only two USB-C ports on the top-left of the display. If you plug in the included USB dock on the bottom-right side of the screen, then your only option, if you want power in as well, is to have the cable trailing out of the top-left of the display, which looks pretty ghastly.
The included kickstand is great if you want to use the device as an all-in-one PC, although it does only work in one orientation (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
And it’s the ports that are the most frustrating to deal with. As standard, HP does include a USB hub with the foldable, but otherwise, you only get two USB-C Thunderbolt ports on here and nothing else. That’d be fine on a super-thin, small form factor device, but the Foldable is quite thick at 0.85cm, as that’s necessary to house all of that internal hardware.
The Spectre Foldable is thick - seriously thick - and only has two USB-C ports as standard (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
Then we get to the keyboard. It’s small, foldable, with fairly standard keys that feel okay touch-wise. It has a trackpad, a small amount of Spectre branding on there, and a soft-touch leather cover. It connects only via Bluetooth and has a 330-hour battery life. You can charge it wirelessly off the display (when it’s fully on the device), but otherwise you’re stuck with a proprietary charging cable instead.
For the money, the keyboard experience isn’t great (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
HP also reckons it should automatically pair with the Foldable 17 as well, but we consistently found that to be a weak point of the unit, particularly after restarting Windows, or letting the keyboard battery go flat. The one saving grace is you can magnetically stick the keyboard on the display, leave it there, and close the device without worry.
Design: 3.5 / 5
HP Spectre Foldable 17: Perfomance
The keyboard-trackpad combo has a phenomenal battery life, and wirelessly charges off the device, but connectivity can be an issue (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
Fine for light usage
Gaming and heavy productivity isn't possible
So, the design side of the equation, except for a few minor or indeed more major pitfalls depending on your perspective, is pretty okay to be fair. There are a few foibles, particularly with the keyboard and placement of ports, but generally speaking, disregarding the price, the HP Foldable is an awesome product.
However, coming to its performance, this is where things take a turn for the worse. Now let’s be clear, you have to look at this with that price in mind: $5,000 is no small sum, particularly for a laptop like this.
I took it for a spin, benchmarking it across all manner of tests, just to see how the Foldable would perform. My test conditions were strict, and it was plugged in, and on the high-performance power plan in Windows, with all of the latest updates applied, and chipset/drivers installed. I ran a number of tests, including Crossmark, Geekbench 6.2.1, Blender, and some limited gaming benchmarks as well.
Now, Intel’s integrated Iris graphics has come a long way, but it’s still nowhere near the calibre of the Alchemist architecture found in the Arc graphics cards. It’s just not going to be one of the best gaming laptops, and that’s fine, it’s not meant to be. However, when you’re spending $5,000 you do expect a modicum of performance.
In Geekbench 6.2.1 the Foldable scored 2,210 in single-core and 6,635 in multi-core. By comparison, the Huawei Matebook D 16 scored 2,605 in single-core and 12,568 in multi-core. That’s double the multi-threaded performance in comparison, from a laptop that clocks in at 25% of the price. The Foldable did have a slight edge when it came to CrystalDiskMark clocking in at 6,739MB/s for reads and 4,524MB/s for writes (sequential), but then we came to the gaming, or lack thereof.
No matter what I tried, not one single benchmark would complete. In 3DMark Wildlife Extreme and Extreme Unlimited (tests designed for mobile gaming), the Foldable didn’t meet the minimum requirements, and Solar Bay (mobile ray tracing) was the same. I also tried Borderlands 3 and Total War: Warhammer III, on their lowest settings, and despite making it to the main menu, neither game would load the benchmark without crashing.
Is it a tablet? A plane? No, it’s a foldable screen (Image credit: Future / Zak Storey)
Blender performance was pretty dire too, at 26.81 for scene one, 17.14 for scene two, and 11.69 for scene three – less than half the performance of our comparative Huawei Matebook D 16. Likewise, Crossmark also got a pummelling across all four results, with scores ranging anywhere between 30-40% worse than the £1,200 Huawei notebook.
Clearly, when it comes to PC games this HP device isn’t going to be as capable as any of the best gaming desktops out there right now. Something like a dedicated gaming PC packing an Nvidia RTX 4080 Super, and maybe Intel Core i9-14900K, is obviously going to run rings around the Foldable 17.
However, the problem goes beyond this, as you could literally go out right now, and spend $3,500 to pick up a PC with a Ryzen 9 7900X, RTX 4070 Super, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 32-inch 4K OLED screen, and still have $1,500 left over to get a good laptop. Or alternatively, if all you want is a powerhouse laptop with a stunning screen, you could spend $2,500 on something like an Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED and save yourself a ton of cash while getting way, way better performance levels.
If all you care about is streaming content on Netflix, or doing some light document work, and browsing the web, the HP Spectre Foldable is more than capable of that. But then, so is practically every laptop at every price point, even the budget ones, and for that crazy four-figure investment, you should expect more.
Performance: 1.5 / 5
HP Spectre Foldable 17: Battery life
Solid 11-hour battery life
For battery life, the HP Spectre Foldable performed well enough and pretty much met our expectations across the board. It wasn’t phenomenal by any means, but lasted a full day of working remotely, with wireless and Bluetooth devices connected to it.
As standard, the Foldable comes with a 6-cell 94.3Wh Li-ion polymer battery and is rated in its folded mode, with keyboard attached, at around 12.5 hours, which is roughly what I saw during my time testing.
If you detach the keyboard entirely and run the Foldable as a display, that time does drop, as you’re effectively enabling more pixels to be active as you are running a higher resolution – but otherwise, it’s still fairly consistent in that regard.
HP also has fast charging support on the Foldable as well, and with any 100W USB-C charger, you’ll get around 50% charge in 40 to 45 minutes, with a full charge taking a little over two hours in my testing.
There's an argument to be made for packing in as much power as possible when it comes to the best gaming laptops, and that's the space the Acer Predator Triton 17 X occupies. For the most part, it forgoes being the sleekest and smallest of its kind to go all-in on pushing boundaries for those with deep enough pockets to take the plunge.
Priced at $3,599.99 / £3,299.99 / AU$7,999, the Acer Predator Triton 17 X isn't a budget pick by any means, but that's the cost of packing in enough horsepower to give even the best gaming PCs a run for their money. While the mobile RTX 4090 doesn't exactly rival what its desktop counterpart can do, the performance margin is within an acceptable ballpark range; you can think of it as similar to an RTX 4080 desktop GPU.
Where this rig stands out from competitors is with its display. The Triton 17 X features a staggering 250Hz refresh rate with a 1600p resolution screen. That 16:10 aspect ratio means you get more real-estate for gaming, and the results are impressive. Fortunately, the components inside this Predator laptop mean you'll be able to push even the latest and most demanding games to superfast frame rates.
No corners have been cut with the quality-of-life features here, either. This laptop is armed with a six-speaker setup, an excellent keyboard, and a healthy port selection, so even when you're not gaming, you'll have a good experience. Just keep in mind that the Triton 17 X is not the most practical notebook with its 3kg / 6.6lbs heft, so it might not be your daily runner to work or school on the side.
Compounding this is the majorly disappointing battery life. The Acer Predator Triton 17 X lasts around two hours at best when enjoying media playback or browsing the web, and about an hour when getting stuck into one of the latest games. You'll want the charger nearby, but if you can overlook these issues then there's a stellar machine underneath it all.
Acer Predator Triton 17 X: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
How much does it cost? $3,599.99 / £3,299.99 / AU$7,999
When is it available? It's out now
Where can you get it? In the US, UK and Australia
The Acer Predator Triton 17 X is one of the pricier gaming laptops on the market, coming in above the $3,000 / £3,000 mark (and at AU$8,000). Considering the hardware inside, that shouldn't come as a huge surprise, though. Acer isn't pulling any punches from the choice of CPU and GPU, through to the display, RAM, and storage. Simply put, it's far from a cheap gaming laptop, but if you want to be on the bleeding edge and have the cash to splash then it could be worthwhile.
As a frame of reference, the price of entry for the Predator Triton 17 X puts it in league with other top-end offerings such as the Origin EON 16SL when fully specced out, or the Alienware M16 and Razer Blade 16 (2023) in higher configurations. You aren't getting the best value for money on the market, nor the strongest price-to-performance ratio, but in terms of sheer raw power, the Triton 17 X has it in spades.
Price: 3 / 5
Acer Predator Triton 17 X: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Stunning 250Hz mini-LED display
Packed with ports
A bit heavy at 3kg / 6.6lbs
Acer Predator Triton 17 X: Specs
Here's what's inside the Acer Predator Triton 17 X supplied to TechRadar.
CPU: Intel Core i9-13900HX GPU: Nvidia RTX 4090 RAM: 64GB LPDDR5 Storage: 2TB NVMe Gen 4.0 Display: WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 IPS 250Hz Ports: 2x USB 3.2, 2x USB-C, 2.5Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm audio jack, microSD card slot Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E; Bluetooth 5.1 Weight: 3kg / 6.6lbs Dimensions: 28 x 38.04 x 2.19cm (LxWxH)
The most notable thing about the Acer Predator Triton 17 X at first glance is the display which is certainly a leading model as far as gaming laptops go. This portable powerhouse packs in a 16:10 WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600 resolution) screen meaning more real-estate is available for gaming than 16:9 can offer. It's bolstered by a 250Hz refresh rate and is Nvidia G-sync compatible, so there's no screen tearing.
It's not the first laptop to feature a mini-LED display, but it is an excellent example of the panel tech in action. While not quite as vivid as OLED, it is considerably brighter, and the 1,000 local dimming zones do a solid job of standing in with similar black levels. Considering the hardware inside, an RTX 4090 mobile GPU backed up by an Intel 13th-gen Core i9 processor, you'll be able to take advantage of that high refresh rate, too.
Acer's design philosophy for this machine is "excellent in excess" and that's clearly demonstrated with the hardware packed into a portable form factor. Mind you, this rig weighs in at 3kg / 6.6lbs making it one of the heavier models on the market. With a 17-inch screen, it's fairly large as well, and while technically portable, the 17 X is unlikely to be something you'll commonly be slinging into a bag. It's more of an out-and-out desktop replacement.
While you're likely to plug in one of the best gaming keyboards and best gaming mice, the Acer Predator Triton 17 X features a solid keyboard and trackpad for casual web browsing and typing. It offers pleasant multi-zone RGB lighting which looks the part when playing in darker environments. The trackpad isn't as nice as some of the glass ones you'll find on a similarly priced Razer Blade, but it gets the job done. Again, a dedicated mouse will do the trick better.
No expense was spared on the connectivity front here, either. There are two USB-C ports, two USB 3.2 ports, 2.5Gb Ethernet, an SD card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. You'll have no shortage of options for either work or play, and it's good that the manufacturer chose function over form in this respect, as some thinner laptops can sacrifice port selection to achieve their svelte nature.
Design: 4 / 5
Acer Predator Triton 17 X: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Unparalleled 1080p and 1440p gaming performance
Silky smooth refresh rate
Gets very hot and loud
You won't be surprised to learn that a gaming laptop powered by the Intel Core i9-13900HX and Nvidia RTX 4090 with 64GB of LPDDR5 RAM absolutely mowed through our suite of benchmarks and games. The display for the laptop tops out at 250Hz, and you'll have all the horsepower necessary to achieve those kind of frame rates in 1080p, and drive very smooth gameplay at 1440p as well.
Acer Predator Triton 17 X benchmarks
Here's how the Acer Predator Triton 17 X got on in our game testing.
Total War: Three Kingdoms (1080p) - 364fps (Low); 140fps (Ultra) Total War: Three Kingdoms (1440p) - 290fps (Low) ; 92fps (Ultra) Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p) - 118fps (Low); 107fps (Ultra) Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p) - 129fps (Low); 89fps (Ultra) Cyberpunk 2077 RT Ultra - 85fps (1080p); 83fps (1440p) Red Dead Redemption 2 (1080p) - 147fps (Low) ; 128fps (Ultra) Red Dead Redemption 2 (1440p) - 108fps (Low); 86fps (Ultra) Geekbench 6:
Single - 2,720
Multi - 17,308 3DMark:
Night Raid - 72,575
Fire Strike - 31,498
Time Spy - 16,866
Port Royal - 11,261 PCMark10: 8,069 CrystalDiskMark: Read - 6,441.97; Write - 4,872.65 Cinebench R23: Single - 1,941
Multi - 25,624 TechRadar battery test: 1 hour 8 minutes
It's comparable to what the MSI Titan 18 HX can do, albeit without the 4K resolution, not that you'll necessarily need 4K in such a small display anyway. It wasn't uncommon for the demanding games tested, such as Cyberpunk 2077 or Red Dead Redemption 2, to exceed 100fps when maxed out in 1440p. Even CPU-bound titles such as Total War: Three Kingdoms were no sweat for the 13900HX, as this game could exceed a lightning-fast 300fps.
Synthetic figures are equally strong as evidenced by 3DMark's range of GPU benchmarks alongside PCMark 10. Acer hasn't skimped on the choice of Gen 4.0 NVMe SSD either, with a strong performance of 6,441MB/s for reads and 4,872MB/s for writes. All told it's a very encouraging package showcasing the prowess of the hardware, but not without a few drawbacks.
While the RTX 4090M is roughly equivalent to the desktop RTX 4080 with its 16GB GDDR6 VRAM and lower power draw, the combination of CPU and GPU here does result in excess heat and loudness. It wasn't uncommon for the rig to reach upwards of 90 degrees when under stress, with the fans drowning out the otherwise impressive six-speaker surround setup. This could be counteracted by employing the use of one of the best gaming headsets, but it's worth noting all the same.
Using the HDMI 2.1 port, you'll be able to hook up the Acer Predator Triton 17 X to one of the best gaming monitors for that big screen experience should the 17-inch display not be enough for you. You may also want to invest in a dedicated laptop riser to keep the fans of the machine elevated to aid cooling, too.
Performance: 4 / 5
Acer Predator Triton 17 X: Battery life
(Image credit: Future)
Lasts around two hours when web browsing or for media playback
About an hour of gaming on battery power
What's most disappointing about the Acer Predator Triton 17 X is the battery life which just about manages two hours on a single charge with media playback or casual browsing. When gaming, you can expect about an hour or so, give or take, so you'll need to keep a charger handy if you want to have a full session of gaming for the evening.
Keeping the Acer Predator Triton 17 X plugged in at all times isn't ideal in terms of its portability factor, obviously, but as we already observed, it's a little too large and bulky for that anyway. The battery life is a shame considering there's a 99.98Wh four-cell power pack inside, but it's not too big a shock when factoring in that there's 175W of power drawn by the RTX 4090M GPU alone.
Simply put, if you're after excellent battery life for a portable machine then the Acer Predator 17 X won't be for you. Instead, we recommend considering one of the best Ultrabooks, even if you won't get anywhere near the same level of processing power.
Battery: 2 / 5
Should you buy the Acer Predator Triton 17 X?
Buy it if...
You want a no-compromise gaming experience
The Acer Predator Triton 17 X packs a punch with its RTX 4090 GPU and 13th-gen Core i9 CPU backed with a staggering 64GB of RAM. All that power translates to commonly getting over 100fps in 1440p with maxed out details.
You want an out-and-out desktop replacement
With its powerful hardware and generous port selection, you'll be able to hook up the Triton 17 X to an external monitor for a big screen gaming experience.
You're in the market for a productivity powerhouse
While the Acer Predator Triton 17 X is geared towards gamers, its 250Hz refresh rate and cutting-edge hardware make it a good choice for creatives who need all the VRAM and raw performance grunt they can get.
Don't buy it if...
You want the best value for money
There's no getting around the eye-watering MSRP of the Acer Predator Triton 17 X at $3,599.99 / £3,299.99 / AU$7,999. If you're on a tighter budget, you'll clearly want to consider a more mid-range model instead.
You want a laptop with a good battery life
Despite its 99.98Wh battery, you can expect only around an hour of gaming when not plugged in. Media playback doubles that to around two hours based on our battery test (conducted at 50% battery with half max brightness). Whatever the case, don't expect much longevity with the Triton 17 X.
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