Following fast after our first tests of Nvidia's flagship GeForce RTX 5090 graphics chip for laptops, Gigabyte's Aorus Master 16 ($3,099.99 as tested) arrived on our test benches with a one-step-down RTX 5080 inside. Paired with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and a 240Hz OLED screen, this laptop delivers a fast and furious gaming experience, posting top-end frame rates with and without DLSS upscaling. Of course, DLSS 4 and multi-frame generation enable this system to fly even further than its RTX 40-series counterparts in the most demanding (and supported) game titles, though traditionally rendered games saw smaller gains. The Master 16 has a gorgeous screen with plenty of ports, but its standard plastic build—which doesn't cut it at three grand—and fleeting battery life hold it from top marks in the competitive premium tier of gaming laptops. For high-end gaming, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 16 retains our Editors' Choice award—at least until we test more GeForce RTX 50-series laptops.

Configuration: RTX 5080 Arrives in Laptops

Gigabyte's Aorus Master gaming laptop comes in 16- and 18-inch sizes. While I'm focused on the former for this review, the two largely share the same feature set and component ceiling.

At the high end, the Master 16 tops out at an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, alongside 64GB of memory and a 2TB solid-state for $4,299.99. The 275HX is a chip from the "Arrow Lake" platform, which deprioritizes NPU performance (36 TOPS) despite the Core Ultra name in favor of high-end performance, with 24 total cores (eight Performance cores and 16 Efficient cores) and support for 24 processing threads.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Our review unit (model BYH C5USE64SH) doesn’t quite go all-out to the top configuration, though it is still well-equipped. It packs the same Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, an RTX 5080 GPU at 175W total graphics power, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for $3,099.99—expensive any way you slice it. Gigabyte will sell one lower-end model, too, with an RTX 5070 Ti, but it hasn't released a price on that variant.

This laptop is my first opportunity to test the laptop GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, following an RTX 5090 first-test session in a Razer Blade 16 model, and it's our first full review of an RTX 50-series laptop. Read my RTX 5090 testing piece for a deeper dive into the RTX 50 series “Blackwell” architecture, improvements over the RTX 40 series, and the lowdown on DLSS 4 upscaling and frame generation. The RTX 5080 can leverage the same technologies with 16GB of GDDR7 video memory.

Design: A Fancy Lid on a Plastic Build

I first saw the Master 16 and its larger 18-inch counterpart recently during a hands-on preview meeting leading up to the RTX 50-series launch. With the laptop closed, the most eye-catching aspect of the design is easily the wavy pattern on the lid.

This effect requires a 12-layer nano-imprint lithography lamination, which I’ve not seen before. I don’t know that I especially love the style, but it’s more visually interesting than many plain (or over-the-top) alternatives.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The Master is well-constructed and feels sturdy. It measures 1.14 by 14 by 10 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.51 pounds, which is reasonably sized for a powerful 16 incher. The entire chassis is plastic, though, which takes the shine off such a pricey laptop with cutting-edge components.

Naturally, it would be even pricier (and, likely, heavier) if it donned the all-metal design of an alternative like the Razer Blade 16. However, customers buying laptops at this tier are also not the most price-sensitive. If I were willing to drop more than $3,000 on a laptop, I’d rather it look and feel the part than worry about the price difference between materials. Others in this range will inevitably feature plastic builds, too, but the metal and alloy bodies stand out.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

That’s not to say the build or design here is poor. For instance, Gigabyte avoided any wild aesthetic decisions around the chassis or on the keyboard deck. The most significant bit of flair is a front-facing LED strip on the bottom panel, which you won’t see in a normal position above the laptop while using it but can if you’re looking at it from a foot or more away. The Aorus brand name appears in half across the touchpad (with no texture) and half across the deck (with texture), and you'll find some patterned slashes alongside the keyboard and ventilated slashes above it.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The rest of the build is plush. The keys feel comfortable when typing, avoiding the dreaded mushy feel while maintaining enough travel and bounce. The key caps are perhaps a touch small for a decently sized laptop, but not enough to get in the way of typing. Gigabyte also decided on clear keycaps for the gaming-centric WASD and QER keys. This better shows off the RGB lighting, though the key lighting is customizable across only three zones, rather than the per-key lighting usually found at this price. The touchpad is roomy and responsive, and I can routinely pan smoothly across it.

Using the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16: Display, Ports, and Extras

The screen is another draw here. With its slim bezels, this 16-inch panel is big enough for comfortable gaming or productivity. However, the appearance and technology will pull gamers in: This is a QHD (2,560-by-1,600-pixel) OLED display with a 240Hz refresh rate, which is the best of all worlds for gaming. The OLED panel looks incredibly vibrant; the picture is clear and bright; and the 240Hz refresh rate is widely helpful across various game genres. Note: The 18-inch version of the Aorus Master houses a mini LED panel rather than an OLED screen.

Gigabyte’s “Windforce Infinity” cooling system inside the laptop helps it run efficiently. This system includes redesigned fans with 158 blades in a super-tight formation. The internal thermal design also consists of a cooler zone around the WASD keys, since that’s where your fingers will sit most of the time while gaming.

I will say that the whole keyboard stayed reasonably cool under load, but I could definitely feel additional airflow around these keys. Even just feeling across the keyboard with the back of my hand, the WASD keys were noticeably cooler than the (already tolerable) other portions. As a downside, the fans are pretty loud, but they're not enough to bother me through everyday use. Under sustained heavy load, they can grow tiresome.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Helpful communication and connectivity features round out the Master 16’s tool set. These features start with a 1080p webcam, which records sharp video and performs well in lower lighting. Connections are plentiful: The left edge holds one Thunderbolt 5 port, one USB Type-A connection, an HDMI 2.1 port, an Ethernet jack, and the power connector. The laptop's right side has one Thunderbolt 4 port, one more USB-A connection, and a microSD card slot. (For wireless connectivity, the Master 16 has a Wi-Fi 7 radio.)

Finally, Gigabyte's new GiMate software comes installed on every new Aorus Master laptop for automated performance monitoring, settings adjustments, and more new AI features. Gigabyte developed a proprietary large-language AI model (LLM) for GiMate that runs entirely locally. GiMate can accept text inputs to change system settings, and another element in GiMate can generate images from text prompts, a la Stable Duiiffusion. I've found little application for the latter so far, though it's a cool curiosity.

The text-to-settings in the chat window work well enough, and though I'd still probably rather use a menu, it can help surface a setting you can't find quickly. The component monitoring and performance modes (we tested on the Gaming Mode setting) are helpful, and GiMate's design is accessible. However, you cannot have conversations with GiMate like you would with ChatGPT.

Testing the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16: See the RTX 5080 Soar

I was excited to learn what the RTX 5080 could do, so I ran the Master 16 through our usual test suite and compared the results against the following systems.

The Alienware m16 R2 and its RTX 4070 ($1,849.99 as tested) show what midrange performance looks like relative to these systems, while the Razer Blade 18’s RTX 4080 ($3,799.99 as tested) is the key generational comparison. (That Blade 18’s 13th Gen Intel chip is slightly older, but it’s the most recent RTX 4080 laptop tested on our new benchmark suite and still a recent HX chip.) Above these systems in the power hierarchy, we have the 2024 Razer Blade 16 with an RTX 4090 ($4,199 as tested) and the just-tested 2025 Blade 16 with an RTX 5090 ($4,499.99) from my 5090 first-tests article.

Productivity and Content Creation Tests

Our primary overall benchmark, UL's PCMark 10, tests a system in productivity tasks such as web browsing, word processing, and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC's storage throughput. Three more tests are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon's Cinebench 2024 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs' Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the transcoding freeware HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution.

Finally, workstation maker Puget Systems' PugetBench for Creators rates a PC's image editing prowess in various automated operations in Adobe Photoshop 25.

The Master 16 and Core Ultra 9 275HX performed well on these tests, particularly on the multi-core stress runs. The pair scored several top marks among this already high-performing group, meaning you can reliably lean on this processor for tasks outside of gaming. Media editors and other professionals working with demanding applications can push this system with their workloads as a not-quite-workstation when away from their desktop setups.

Graphics and Gaming Tests

We challenge all systems’ graphics with a quartet of animations or gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark test suite. Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K) use the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. Steel Nomad's regular and Light subtests focus on APIs more commonly used for game development, like Metal and DirectX 12, to assess gaming geometry and particle effects.

We also use 3DMark's Solar Bay to measure ray tracing performance in a synthetic environment. This benchmark works with native APIs and subjects 3D scenes to increasingly intense ray-traced workloads at 1440p.

Our real-world gaming testing comes from in-game benchmarks within Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. These three games—all benchmarked at the system’s full HD (1080p or 1200p native) resolution—represent competitive shooter, open-world, and simulation games, respectively. If the screen is capable of a higher resolution, we rerun the tests at the QHD equivalent of 1440p or 1600p. Each game runs at two sets of graphics settings per resolution for up to four runs total on each game.

We run the Call of Duty benchmark at the Minimum graphics preset—aimed at maximizing frame rates to test display refresh rates—and again at the Extreme preset. Our Cyberpunk 2077 test settings aim to push PCs fully, so we run it on the Ultra graphics preset and again at the all-out Ray Tracing Overdrive preset without DLSS or FSR. Finally, F1 2024 represents our DLSS effectiveness (or FSR on AMD systems) test, demonstrating a GPU’s capacity for frame-boosting upscaling technologies.

On the synthetic (3DMark) tests, the RTX 5080 performed well enough, but it was not a leader, often falling in third or fourth place. That includes falling behind the RTX 5090, the RTX 4090, and even the RTX 4080. That tells us something about the raw horsepower, but let’s check with the real-world gaming tests before drawing concrete conclusions.

First, I should note that the Blade 18 is a larger (though still slim) laptop than the Master 16, so we should factor that in for RTX 4080-versus-RTX 5080 comparisons. The processor also played a part; this Intel chip seemingly outperformed the AMD alternatives in CPU-bound scenarios even when a superior GPU was involved, like F1 2024 with DLSS active, where you can see the RTX 5090 system hit a bottleneck.

Overall, the RTX 5080 generally outperformed the RTX 4080 and performed similarly to the RTX 4090, though the 4090 scored slightly higher in many cases. You'll find a few instances of traded blows with each GPU, which you can chalk up to system differences, but it’s clear that the RTX 5080 doesn’t run away with the results compared with the last generation. Call of Duty showed some differences in frame-rate deltas depending on resolution—the RTX 4080 hangs closer at 1600p—while the RTX 5080 can’t pull away from the 40-series GPUs on the ever-demanding Cyberpunk.

Outside of these head-to-head comparisons, I think the objective frame rates are fast, though that’s table stakes for a laptop this expensive. Cyberpunk 2077 on maximum settings (including path tracing) is a bridge too far for most systems, even the RTX 5090, meant to run with the help of DLSS (more on that next). On the Ultra setting, the frame rates are much more playable, while this laptop is also capable of high-frame-rate competitive multiplayer gaming based on the Call of Duty results.

Additional DLSS Game Tests

Since these are the first RTX 5080 laptop tests we have run, I ran additional DLSS benchmarks, given that DLSS 4 (with its related improvements) is a significant part of the RTX 50-series offering. I only ran these tests on the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 to evaluate the new generation. We’re focusing mainly on Cyberpunk here since it’s the only DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation-compatible title of these three at the moment. But, the other two titles can show us how the two RTX 50-series GPUs stack up against each other and how games not (yet) compatible will run on the 50-series chips.

The Cyberpunk results are interesting. First, they showed the RTX 5090’s slightly better raw power. Then, the impact of the Master 16’s processor when CPU-bound DLSS Ultra Performance mode was revealed. Next, activating Frame Generation artificially leveled the playing field (the tied 147fps score). Finally, the RTX 5090’s higher ceiling at the top end of the technology (the 254fps score) became apparent. The practical takeaway is that the RTX 5080, at least in these two systems, can perform similarly to the RTX 5090, but also that implementation and individual testing of each laptop matters.

Call of Duty widened the gap between the two while not leveraging the latest DLSS technology. Once DLSS and Frame Generation were activated, the RTX 5090 put up noticeably better frame rates. Finally, F1 2024 underscored the Master 16’s processor superiority for these purposes, muscling past the RTX 5090 only via DLSS.

Battery and Display Tests

We test each laptop and tablet's battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the test, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.

To gauge display performance, we also use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Windows software to measure a laptop screen's color saturation—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can show—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter).

The Master 16’s battery result is middling in this field, though the RTX 4080-bearing Blade 18 fared worse. The rest of the laptops lasted much longer, and it’s not an RTX 50-series issue, given the duration of the RTX 5090-bearing Blade 16. Nearly five hours of runtime is better than two and a half, but you won't be able to use the Master 16 for extended sessions off the charger.

The screen's color coverage proved broad and deep (and better than several others here), and its brightness also scored well. That backs up the eye test for this gorgeous-looking OLED display. You can fault the Master 16 for its plastic presentation but not for missing the bare necessities in this price bracket.

Verdict: A Fully Featured RTX 50 Laptop in Need of a Glow Up

Of course, the RTX 5080 is one of the big draws for the new Aorus Master 16. It largely delivers, with moderate improvements over the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 in traditional rendering and significant gains via DLSS 4. However, those raw horsepower and rendering gains, modest as they are, seem to be part and parcel with the RTX 50 series.

You also can’t draw widespread conclusions about a mobile GPU from one laptop, as every model implements its GPU differently, with unique thermal solutions. The Master 16 supports this graphics chip well, producing potent performance that RTX 5090 or larger last-generation systems couldn't fully lap.

As a whole gaming laptop, the Master 16 is a feature-rich product but not a premium one. The OLED screen is fast and brilliant; the laptop is sturdy; and its chassis has lots of connectivity. However, I'd hesitate to spend $3,000 or $4,000 on a plastic-bodied laptop. This conundrum is not unique to Gigabyte’s system: In fairness, we saw several at least partially plastic 16- and 18-inch RTX 40-series laptops last generation. The Blade 16 and select others separate themselves with metal builds, but you also pay a premium for them in an already expensive category. These increasingly more potent parts have put manufacturers in a bind on pricing, and a plush metal build is arguably the least important aspect of any high-end laptop.

Regardless, paying more than a monthly mortgage installment for anything merely plastic just stings. Considering the Master 16 has many advanced features and an expensive GPU that lives up to its performance goals, however, this is a worthy gaming laptop as long as you’re prepared to pay up. If you expect more from a $3,000-plus laptop, hold out for more reviews of RTX 50-series laptops coming soon.