We rate the finest RTX 4080 gaming laptops & creative laptops currently available, and discuss their performance vs the previous gen
Updated: Nov 14, 2023 8:14 pm
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This best RTX 4080 laptop 2023 page will help you pick the right option for your needs from this powerful range of machines. These laptops come with a range of different displays and processor options, build quality and port selections, depending on the price point and specific use-case. They can be suited for gamers, creators, workstation users, or all the above. We’ve selected a few picks based on different niches: from the highest powered to the most budget-friendly. Further down this page we also discuss the performance of the RTX 4080 laptop GPU against its biggest competitors to give you an idea of its capabilities.
Most RTX 4080 laptops are already out now, however there’s still the potential for the introduction of a few new models in the coming year. We commit to ensuring all our guides are as current as possible with the latest offerings. If you don’t have a lot of time, take a glance at our top three selections below, each accompanied by a brief description. For those seeking a more in-depth understanding before pulling the trigger on a purchase, look to the individual product reviews further down the page, plus information towards the bottom detailing the overall performance of this mobile GPU. Finally, do be sure to take a look at our Black Friday gaming laptop deals page for the best price reductions you’ll find all year.
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01
The best overall pick – a terrific value 17″ laptop
ASUS ROG Strix G17 (240Hz QHD, Ryzen 9 7845HX/7945HX)
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02
An affordable RTX 4080 gaming laptop with 360Hz screen
GIGABYTE AORUS 17H (i7-13700H, RTX 4080)
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03
Best 14″ pick for gaming & light creative work
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023)
Overall the performance results of the mobile RTX 4080 laptop GPU has been very impressive – with substantial frame rate uplift over the previous gen in terms of both hardware power and the more advanced DLSS 3.0 frame generation tech, and well worth a buy. If you’re looking for the very highest end of the SKU spectrum, you can always have a read of our best RTX 4090 laptop guide as well, which is the best option if you’re looking for a 4K gaming laptop.
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Best RTX 4080 laptops 2023: in-depth review
The below are the best RTX 4080 laptops that are currently out on the market. We’re still waiting for the products of some brands to hit the shelves, so these picks will likely change a bit over the coming months as they are released.
A terrific value 17-inch gaming laptop with Ryzen CPU
ASUS ROG Strix G17 (240Hz QHD, Ryzen 9 7845HX/7945HX)
AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX / 7945HX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 / 4070 / 4080
16GB/32GB DDR5 RAM (4800MHz)
Pros
- Ryzen CPU options are the most powerful laptop processors available
- Great gaming performance from GPU & CPU
- Great value for the power
- Good color replication
Cons
- Somewhat plastic build quality
- only 16:9 aspect ratio
First things first, the ASUS ROG Strix G17 differs from ASUS ROG Strix SCAR variant, although it’s not always abundantly clear which one is which based on how retailers list them. The SCAR invariably lists for quite a bit more money, and for your cash you get slightly better build quality, cooling, port coverage, and a different visual design. Ultimately though, we think the non-SCAR variants are the superior choice on a performance/price basis – indeed they’re some of the best value high-end gaming laptops we’ve seen for the past couple of years.
The two processor options are the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and Ryzen 9 7945HX, and if you’re buying an RTX 4080 machine, we’d probably go with the latter, as this is the most powerful laptop CPU currently available and you can get it for a pretty good price with this machine. The pairing of these two components can pretty much annihilate anything you throw at it – gaming or rendering workflows.
The ASUS ROG Strix G17 comes with a 240Hz 1440p 17″ screen, which is nice and sizable though it is admittedly limited to the 16:9 aspect ratio, unlike the 16:10 you often get now in contemporary gaming laptops. The display’s 100% sRGB color replication also makes it suitable for light color work.
Although the chassis of the laptop may feel slightly plasticky and the webcam may not be top-notch, these are fairly minor negatives when put against what you do get for you money. Overall, it’s rare to find a gaming laptop that offers such impressive power at such a reasonable price. If you’re fine with a laptop of this size, then it comes very much recommended.
The best RTX 4080 laptop with Intel CPU
ASUS ROG Strix G18 (i9-13980HX, RTX 4080)
Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
Pros
- good value for money
- very powerful GPU & CPU
- 240Hz 1600p display with good response time
- good color replication
Cons
- somewhat plastic build
- some coil whine and fan noise under heavy loads
- sub-par webcam quality
The ASUS ROG Strix 18 with RTX 4080 laptop GPU and Intel Core i9-13980 HX CPU is currently available for $2,499.99 at Best Buy, although stocks have temporarily run out at the time of writing. This is a surprisingly terrific price for this very powerful laptop, not only coming with the RTX 4080 GPU but also the most powerful laptop CPU currently available, and we wouldn’t be surprised they up the price before long. Still, this machine is worth an asking price several hundred dollars above this.
The slightly plasticky build quality might not match the finish of some of the more premium offerings out there, the webcam isn’t the best, and there have been a couple of reported issues concerning coil whine and general fan noise when it’s put under intense load, but these are relatively small trade-offs.
The 18-inch 1600p 240Hz screen has a 5.5ms average grey-to-grey response time, which isn’t quite good enough to completely eliminate ghosting at this refresh rate, but it’s still a good score for a laptop display. Brightness is good as is color replication in sRGB (100%) and DCI-P3 (97%).
Ultimately it’s pretty rare to find such a powerful gaming laptop at such a reasonable price, so (unless you’re after something a bit smaller and more portable) we’d buy this if you get the chance.
RTX 4080 laptop with 360Hz screen (Budget pick)
GIGABYTE AORUS 17H (i7-13700H, RTX 4080)
Pros
- unbeatable value for an RTX 4080 laptop
- very powerful GPU & powerful CPU
- ridiculously high 360Hz refresh rate
- great battery life for such a powerful laptop
Cons
- 1080p resolution may be too low for some at 17.3”
- plastic build
- performance enthusiasts may wish for more RAM options
- only 720p webcam
This GIGABYTE AORUS 17.3″ with Intel Core i9-13700H CPU obviously still costs a pretty penny, but it’s substantially cheaper than any other RTX 4080 laptop currently available. Gigabyte gaming laptops don’t usually have the most powerful GPUs in them in TGP terms, but they are often the cheapest, and the GPU and CPU pairing is still more than powerful enough to run any game you throw at it on the highest settings, for superb FPS.
This option comes with a 1080p display, which might be a bit low for some on a 17-inch display, but for those looking to maximise FPS performance in competitive gaming it should be no problem. The ridiculously high 360Hz refresh rate will mean liquid smooth performance in any twitch shooter, giving you the best opportunity to nail those headshots.
High-TGP RTX 4080 laptop (with Cherry MX keyboard & liquid cooling option)
XMG Neo 16 E23 / Eluktronics MECH16 GP (i9-13900HX)
Nvidia RTX 4060 (140W) / 4070 (140W) / 4080 (175W) / 4090 (175W)
16GB/32GB/64GB DDR5 (4800-6400 MHz)
Pros
- Superb gaming performance
- Highest TGP RTX 4080 / 4090 in a laptop
- MUX Switch & Advanced Optimus
- Superb onboard software allows for detailed performance/fan tweaking
- Great sRGB color replication, accuracy & panel uniformity
- Bright screen with respectable contrast
- Mechanical keyboard option & trackpad are very good
- SD card reader
- Good build quality
- Compatible with external liquid cooling
Cons
- Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU runs hot without liquid cooling
- Webcam & mic could be better
- Heavy power adapter
- Standard membrane keyboard option is mediocre
- Bland aesthetic
The XMG Neo/Eluktronics MECH series of gaming laptops always come equipped with the highest-powered graphics cards of any series out there (meaning the highest TGP i.e. Total Graphics Power), as well as some of the best onboard software on the market for tweaking power and fan settings. You can read our in-depth review for more information.
These devices always come with the option for various opto-mechanical keyboards, including the option for a Cherry MX Mechanical keyboard this year, and a unique external liquid cooling option, should you wish to fork out a bit extra for this to push your performance whilst at home/improve your components’ longevity.
Eluktronics are the US brand and XMG primarily serve the European market, but for all intents and purposes these are the same laptop – they just look slightly different. Don’t let the fact they’re lesser known names put you off, as they’re fast building up a reputation for excellence.
The weaker points of these machines is the usually the speaker quality (poor even by gaming laptop standards), and in this particular case it doesn’t come with as quite as powerful a CPU as some of the other picks on this page, but really there’s not a great deal of difference in this area, and it should be more than counterbalanced by the powerful GPU. Features like G-Sync and Advanced Optimus come with all models.
Best 14-inch RTX 4080 laptop
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023)
AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS / 9 7940HS
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 / 4070 / 4080 / 4090
Pros
- MUX Switch
- great gaming performance for a smaller laptop
- great response time
- 16:10 screen gives more vertical space
- great color replication
- superb peak brightness
- great trackpad
- good battery life
- good array of ports, including MicroSD slot
- decent speakers
- light and portable
- looks great
Cons
- keyboard build quality and backlighting could be improved
- no ethernet caps your internet to 1Gpbs
- difficult to navigate onboard software
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 finds its way into our best-of guides every year as one of the best 14-inch gaming laptops and usually manages to secure the top spot despite increasing competition from the likes of Razer and Alienware.
The 2023 version builds upon the strengths of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022) model we previously reviewed, with an increased maximum refresh rate of 165Hz, Nvidia GeForce 40-series graphics cards, AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors, and various minor enhancements. For a detailed understanding of the laptop’s features, we recommend referring to our review of the previous model, however in summary: it boasts a vibrant 16:10 screen with a good response time, solid color replication, a decent selection of ports considering its compact size with MicroSD slot, and surprisingly decent speakers (a rarity for gaming laptops).
The Ryzen 7 7735HS or 9 7940HS processors are less powerful options relative to the Ryzen 9 7845HX and 7945HX, but they still deliver admirable performance when paired with an RTX 4080 GPU and at an appealing price point. Overall, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is an excellent upper mid-range portable gaming laptop that you can also use for creative software workflows on the side.
RTX 4080 laptop with best display & build quality
Razer Blade 18 (i9-13950HX)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 / RTX 4090
Pros
- Bright screen with great color replication
- Great response time
- Slim & portable
- Superb build quality & aesthetics
Cons
- Very expensive
- Not quite as powerful as other premium RTX 4080 / 4090 laptops
If you’re looking at raw performance for the best price, Razer Blade laptops certainly don’t lead the pack in that particular area, but where they do excel is in their overall build quality, slimline design and portability, and the quality of their displays.
This is still an RTX 4080 laptop with high-powered CPU, so it will demolish any game you throw at it of course, but you probably won’t get the same FPS that you would in the XMG/Eluktronics pick above (though it will still outperform the Gigabyte Aorus). It comes with great voltage and fan speed customisation options in its onboard software as well, to squeeze out that extra performance.
Still, the 1600p 240Hz panel on this Razer Blade 18 has the best response time you’re likely to find (around 3.4ms) as well as a great 500 nits peak brightness and impressive 100% sRGB and 98% DCI-P3 color replication. It’s also the most slimline option on this list.
RTX 4080 laptop release date 2023
The majority of RTX 4080 gaming laptops will be coming out at some point in Q1 2023, with a few of them already having been released. Some, like the Acer Predator Helios, are due for release at some point in February-March 2023.
Check out our release date pages for each of the following laptop models for more specific information:
Are RTX 4080 laptops worth it? RTX 4080 laptop performance
The new architecture of the RTX 4080 has brought greater processing power at a more efficient energy cost, which means the uplift on this particular card is actually pretty impressive. On top of this, the DLSS 3.0 support of the 40-series cards means yet more performance uplift on those games that support this feature, compared to the previous gen (which support DLSS 2.0).
RTX 4080 laptop vs RTX 3080 Ti laptop performance
As good old Jarrod of Jarrod’sTech breaks down in the below video, the new RTX 4080 laptop GPU offers a substantial lead over the previous RTX 3080 Ti flagship, even without DLSS turned on, also giving more frames per $, making it the better value pick of the two graphics cards.
The average uplift at the different resolutions Jarrod tested over 25 games is as follows (note that DLSS was turned off for these comparisons):
- 1080p: 28.79% average increase in FPS for the RTX 4080 (ranging between 12 – 43%)
- 1440p: 30.57% average increase in FPS for the RTX 4080 (ranging between 18 – 39%)
- 4K: 26.59% average increase in FPS for the RTX 4080 (ranging between 0.5 – 37%)
As you can see in the screengrab below, there are a great deal of similarities between the specs of the two laptop GPUs. Although the core count is the same between both, the newer Ada Lovelace architecture on the RTX 4080 laptop GPU means that the clock speed is substantially higher, however it still has less VRAM and a lower memory bandwidth. This comparative reduction in VRAM is likely why the performance boost at 4K is not as substantial for the newer card (though an average uplift of 26.59% is nothing to be sniffed at).
RTX 4080 laptop FAQs
Are RTX 4080 laptops worth buying?
RTX 4080 laptops offer a significant increase in performance and efficiency over the previous generation, so are definitely worth buying, though they do vary a lot in price, so make sure you pick the right option for your needs.
How much do RTX 4080 laptops cost?
So far we’ve seen RTX 4080 laptops range from a starting MSRP of $2,399 all the way up to $3,299.
This range may increase further as new models come out.
Final Word
We hope this has helped you find the best RTX 4080 laptop for your needs. If not, do also take a look at our best RTX 4090 laptop and best RTX 4070 laptop pages, as well as our myriad other gaming laptop guides in the megamenu at the top of this page.
