The Raider 18 HX AI will face the Razer Blade 16 (2025) ($4,499 as examined) in our efficiency exams, which pairs an AMD Ryzen AI processor with a GeForce RTX 5090. We additionally supplemented our charts with three previous-generation (however nonetheless potent) laptops sporting GeForce RTX 40-series silicon, together with the Acer Predator Helios 18 ($3,099 as examined), the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024) ($3,899 as examined), and the 2024 Razer Blade 18 ($4,499 as examined). Whereas these are all highly effective machines, the Raider ought to cleared the path, at the least within the CPU benchmarks.
Productiveness and Content material Creation Assessments
Our main total benchmark, UL’s PCMark 10, exams a system in productiveness apps starting from internet searching to phrase processing and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC’s storage throughput.
Three extra exams are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon’s Cinebench 2024 makes use of that firm’s Cinema 4D engine to render a posh scene; Primate Labs’ Geekbench 6.3 Professional simulates widespread apps starting from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine studying; and we see how lengthy it takes the video transcoder HandBrake 1.8 to transform a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p decision.
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Lastly, workstation maker Puget Techniques’ PugetBench for Creators charges a PC’s picture modifying prowess with numerous automated operations in Adobe Photoshop 25.
The Raider set an extremely excessive customary with almost 9,000 factors in PCMark, the best rating we’ve seen from a laptop computer. Curiously, nevertheless, it scored solely so-so within the storage take a look at, which can be right down to an incompatibility between the take a look at and the not often seen PCIe 5.0 drive on this laptop computer. Its Core Extremely 9 285HX CPU delivered commanding efficiency throughout all processor benchmarks, significantly outdistancing the competitors in a number of exams.
In actual fact, this laptop computer performs on the degree of many higher-end desktops. That, mixed with this laptop computer’s AI processing chops for duties like enhanced content material creation, places the Raider in pole place amongst desktop substitute machines.
Gaming and Graphics Assessments
We problem all techniques’ graphics with a quartet of animations or gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark take a look at suite. Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Excessive (4K) use the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. Metal Nomad’s common and Mild subtests give attention to APIs extra generally used for sport growth, like Metallic and DirectX 12, to evaluate gaming geometry and particle results. We flip to Photo voltaic Bay to measure ray tracing efficiency in an artificial atmosphere. This benchmark works with native APIs, subjecting 3D scenes to more and more intense ray-traced workloads at 1440p.
Our real-world gaming testing comes from the in-game benchmarks of Name of Responsibility: Fashionable Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. These three video games—all benchmarked on the system’s full HD (1080p or 1200p native) decision—symbolize aggressive shooter, open-world, and simulation video games, respectively. If the display screen is succesful of a better decision, we rerun the exams on the QHD equal of 1440p or 1600p. Every sport runs at two units of graphics settings per decision for as much as 4 runs whole on every sport.
We run the Name of Responsibility benchmark on the Minimal graphics preset—aimed toward maximizing body charges to check show refresh charges—and once more on the Excessive preset. Our Cyberpunk 2077 take a look at settings goal to push PCs totally, so we run it on the Extremely graphics preset and once more on the all-out Ray Tracing Overdrive preset with out DLSS or FSR. Lastly, F1 2024 represents our DLSS effectiveness (or FSR on AMD techniques) take a look at, demonstrating a GPU’s capability for frame-boosting upscaling applied sciences.
In 3DMark, the Raider impressively held its personal in opposition to the Blade 16 on common regardless of utilizing a GeForce RTX 5080 versus an RTX 5090, although all of the laptops carried out equally in these exams. The Raider proved notably formidable within the real-world gaming benchmarks, once more simply half a step behind the Blade 16 in Cyberpunk 2077 at most settings. (The one take a look at we don’t have outcomes for is Name of Responsibility, which was on account of a difficulty with the sport itself and never the Raider’s capabilities.) The Raider additionally confirmed marked enchancment over the remainder of the sphere, notably at 1080p and 1200p resolutions, the place the CPU performs a extra vital issue. Take a look at it at 1080p and Extremely settings in Cyberpunk 2077.
We additionally anecdotally ran the real-world video games on the Raider’s native 4K decision, the place it achieved 41fps in Cyberpunk 2077 (Extremely, no ray tracing) and 154fps in F1 24 (Extremely Excessive, DLSS on). Briefly, this Raider produces dream-level efficiency for any sort of gaming or content material creation.
Battery Life and Show Assessments
We take a look at every laptop computer’s battery life by enjoying a domestically saved 720p video file (the open-source Blender film Tears of Metal) with show brightness at 50% and audio quantity at 100%. We ensure that the battery is totally charged earlier than the take a look at, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.
To gauge show efficiency, we use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Home windows software program to measure a laptop computer display screen’s shade saturation—what proportion of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 shade gamuts or palettes the show can present—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per sq. meter).
Though the Raider’s battery life is middle-of-the-pack amongst this group, lasting almost six hours is sort of spectacular for a hulking gaming laptop computer, notably contemplating its excessive display screen brightness on the 50% setting we use for testing.
The Raider’s mini-LED show distinguishes itself with near-total gamut protection and distinctive brightness. Whereas the opposite contenders all function respectable high-end screens, the Raider operates in a distinct league solely.
