
Exclusive: Maingear just dropped a monster RTX 5090 gaming laptop with up to 192GB RAM
The Ultima 18 is Maingear's most powerful laptop to date, made in collaboration with manufacturer Clevo. Aimed at power users, this desktop replacement boasts an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, RTX 5090 or RTX 5080 and an 18-inch 4K (3840 x 2400) display with a 200Hz display.
It's clearly a beast, but the real kicker is that it can be outfitted with up to 192GB of DDR5 RAM and 4x M.2 NVMe SSDs. With the power it packs under the hood, the Ultima 18 is set to cruise through load times and crush multitasking for both productivity and gaming.
The Ultima 18 is available at Maingear's official store starting at $3,599, both in pre-configured and customizable models. It's already giving best gaming laptop vibes, so let's dive into the details.
We've seen some powerful RTX 5090 gaming rigs so far, including the $6,700 MSI Titan 18 HX, but Maingear's new Ultima 18 gaming laptop takes it up a notch with its customizable specs.
Maingear Ultima 18
Price
From $3,599
Display
18-inch 4K (3840 x 2400), 200Hz, 16:10 aspect ratio
CPU
Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
GPU
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090
RAM
Up to 192GB DDR5 (4x 48GB)
Storage
Up to 4x M.2 NVMe SSDs
Battery
98Wh (330W charger)
Ports
2x USB-A( 1x with PD), 2x Thunderbolt 5, 2x 2.5Gb LAN, 1x HDMI2.1, 1x microSD
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Weight
8.8 pounds
On paper, this is one of the most powerful laptops I've seen, and at its highest configuration, it's sure to cost a pretty penny. However, as with the Maingear ML-16, the Ultima 18 can be customized to the user's liking. So, of course, if you don't need anywhere near 192GB of DDR5 RAM, you can shave off some memory.
Otherwise, there are a few fixtures that still make it a powerful desktop replacement. That includes the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, plenty of useful ports that include dual Thunderbolt 5 slots, a 98Wh battery to give its internals enough juice and even the latest Wi-Fi 7 connectivity.
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It also comes equipped with a massive 18-inch 4K display with a 200Hz refresh rate and a response time of less than 7ms. Many newly released gaming laptops offer displays with up to 240Hz and sub-3ms response rates, like the Alienware 16 Area-51 and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18, but the Ultima 18's 4K resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio should present gorgeous visuals. Plus, it also supports Nvidia G-Sync to manage screen tearing.
Judging from its size (to be confirmed) and weight (8.8 pounds), this is a laptop you'll want planted on your desk rather than open up at a café. But the Ultima 18 is built to be a desktop replacement.
'Ultima 18 isn't just a laptop, it's a no-compromise desktop-class gaming rig that fits in a backpack,' states Wallace Santos, CEO of Maingear. 'We've engineered this notebook to handle the latest AAA games, creative workloads, and AI-driven applications with headroom to spare. From the raw horsepower to the fine details, this system embodies everything our gamers expect from a premium Maingear gaming system.'
The amount of RAM and storage it can pack is what makes this a beast. It supports modern dual-channel DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 SSDs, with the highest configuration allowing for 4x 48GB memory along with 1x Gen 5x4 and 3x Gen 4x4 SSDs.
As for what else it comes equipped with, the Ultima 18 features a customizable per-key RGB keyboard with a dedicated Copilot key. There are also five speakers with two drivers, two tweeters and a subwoofer that's powered by a Sound Blaster Studio Pro 2 audio system, along with a 5MP Windows Hello camera.
Maingear also states the Ultima 18 is free of bloatware (hoorah!) and its Control Center, where users can swap performance modes, customize per-key RGB lighting, adjust fan profiles and assign macros.
There are some powerful gaming laptops out there, but Maingear's Ultima 18 looks to bring the heat. We'll see how this monster performs once we get our hands on it, but in the meantime, check out how this RTX 5090 Corsair gaming PC measures up.
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Digital Trends
3 days ago
- Digital Trends
This was the perfect time for AMD to make a flagship GPU
AMD has certainly made some of the best graphics cards of this generation with RDNA 4. That's not an opinion — that's a fact. However, this is also the generation when Team Red decided to keep things accessible to the mainstream gamer, meaning that it didn't even try to compete against Nvidia's RTX 5090. I understand why AMD chose to stick to the mainstream market this time around. But, knowing what I know now, I really wish that it took the leap of faith and made a flagship GPU this time around. The RTX 5090 was the perfect target Going into this generation of GPUs, the RTX 5090 seemed like a tough target to beat. We saw the kind of gains Nvidia was able to deliver going from the RTX 3090 to the RTX 4090 — the newer card was up to 89% faster. Many expected Nvidia to do the impossible and deliver a similar performance uplift with the RTX 5090. Recommended Videos Unfortunately, it didn't. In our review of the RTX 5090, we noted that it was fast, but not twice as fast as the RTX 4090. The gains were there, don't get me wrong, but they were far from as unattainable as what we saw in the previous generation. Take a look at our benchmark of the RTX 5090. This is based on our test suite of 13 games played at 4K. In this benchmark, the RTX 5090 basically doubles the performance of AMD's last-gen RX 7900 XTX, which was its halo card at the time. The RX 9070 XT, AMD's current-gen top GPU, can't outperform the RX 7900 XTX. But, let's assume that AMD did make the RX 9090 XT, or XTX, and it tried to target Nvidia this time around. Doubling the performance from the previous generation is no easy feat, but even if we assume that never happened, it'd still be competitive. It'd be a 'shoot for the moon, land among the stars' type of thing, where AMD might not have the firepower to obliterate the RTX 5090, but it could offer a reasonable alternative. Then, there's the RTX 5080. Many hoped that the RTX 5080 would beat Nvidia's RTX 4090 at a much more affordable price point. That never happened, though. Our benchmarks show that Nvidia's RTX 5080 trails behind the last-gen flagship. Moreover, it doesn't offer that much of an uplift over its predecessor, the RTX 4080 Super. There's also a pretty wide gap between the RTX 5090, which averages 119 frames per second (fps) in our test suite, and the RTX 5080, which hits close to 84 fps. That wide gap is where the (theoretical, mind you) RX 9090 XTX could've landed. And it would've fit perfectly, too. AMD didn't need to beat Nvidia Comparing GPUs is never an easy feat. We have to take rasterization, ray tracing, upscaling, pricing, and all sorts of other things into account — and even if AMD made a flagship GPU, chances are that it wouldn't have destroyed Nvidia on every single point. That's fine. It didn't need to. It'd just have been nice for it to provide an alternative for that in-between segment — the gap between the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080. AMD itself says that most gamers want mainstream cards, and it's definitely not wrong. There's an argument to be made about the point of enthusiast GPUs and how many of us truly need them. Regardless, though, many people want to own one, and there'd definitely be interest if AMD delivered one in this generation, where the gains in the enthusiast segment weren't as impressive as before. This generation offered AMD the unique opportunity to beat Nvidia without needing to outperform it. The RX 9090 XT would have to be carefully priced, of course, but I imagine it'd have been well-received. Just look at the success of the RX 9070 XT — the card is universally praised. The elephant in the room There's an elephant in the room, though. I'm talking about the recommended list price (MSRP). I love the RX 9070 XT, but I struggle to recommend it in the current climate, all because it's hardly ever available at MSRP. This problem isn't unique to AMD — the same can be said of Nvidia, and even Intel, which made the one GPU I keep telling people to buy. Considering that the RX 9070 XT still hasn't dropped back down to its MSRP months after launch, I can imagine a world where the RX 9090 XT would be faced with the same problem. A card that outperforms the RTX 5080 would need to be affordable to bring in enthusiasts. Those are the gamers who usually don't mind spending an extra $200 to get something objectively better, so undercutting would be the name of the game here. But with neither GPU selling at MSRP, we might be stuck in the same limbo as we are now, except with more options available to us. It's a tricky situation. Ultimately, AMD doesn't seem to have any plans to launch an RX 9080 XT or an RX 9090 XT (although who knows what the future brings). This is just speculation with a dash of wishful thinking on my part. The bottom line here is that the stars have aligned, and this was the right time for that impressive AMD flagship to happen. I wish it had, but I am happy with the RX 9070 XT for everything it delivers. Now, my hopes and dreams are centered on RDNA 5, which is said to — once again — aim high.


Gizmodo
4 days ago
- Gizmodo
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 Could Be the Best Laptop to Replace Your Desktop Yet
The first thing you notice about the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is the AniMe lights. The pixelated LEDs (also found on devices like the ROG Phone 9), flowing in a rhythm from a back strip like a scar streaked dashingly across a warrior's eye, let you know what you're in for before you even crack open the lid. The Strix Scar 18 is a fine gaming laptop with plenty of enticing qualities and one major flaw. But what makes it so appealing isn't the dancing lights that are only attractive to moths or gamers; it's what's underneath the chassis that makes this 18-inch laptop so damn accessible. Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 It will distract you with all the gamer lights, but the Strix Scar 18 has some great thermals and repairabilty features that puts it over the top. Pros Cons The $3,400 laptop model Asus sent me for review included the top-end Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 laptop GPU. With 32GB of DDR5 5600 RAM, I didn't encounter an application this desktop replacement-sized mobile PC couldn't handle at the max resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. Performance was exactly what I expected from the CPU and GPU combo with the device plugged in. At its suggested retail price, it's a little more expensive than the HP Omen Max 16 I recently reviewed, which has the same screen resolution in its slightly smaller frame. The refreshed Strix Scar 18 is also more expensive than the last-gen model, a change that likely came after Trump slapped his tariffs on imported goods earlier this year. I saw the refreshed ROG Strix Scar 18 when Asus showed it off at CES earlier this year. More than that, I've felt it with the ROG Strix 17 laptop with an Nvidia RTX 3070 that I use at home. Each key is familiar. The chiclet keyboard doesn't have the feel anywhere close to a mechanical typing machine, but there's enough travel to make each press substantial. Even the palm rest has that same satin, smudge-prone texture that's neither uncomfortable nor particularly pleasant to lean on. If I had one big complaint, it's the amount of keyboard flex I could feel toward the center of the device, especially nearest to the trackpad. It makes the device feel far more brittle than it actually is. Thankfully, the rest of the chassis makes up for that flaw through smart engineering. What's most impressive about the laptop is its ability to stay cool under pressure. The Strix Scar 18 makes use of three fans and an end-to-end vapor chamber. The air gets pulled in from the bottom and sides and is expelled out the rear of the chassis. The keyboard remained at a perfectly reasonable temperature even when running multiple games for hours on end. The only area of the device that could get warm was closest to the screen, where no reasonable gamer would stick their fingers. Under load, the Strix Scar 18 will sound like a box fan running on high speed next to your ear. It's not loud enough to totally eclipse the laptop's speakers, but the hum will be noticeable enough without a good pair of noise-canceling headphones at the ready. The placement of the I/O ports also meant my mouse hand never felt toasty. The device comes with just enough I/O to save you from immediately jumping for a port dock. There are three USB-A 3.2, a LAN port, and two Thunderbolt 5 ports that support DisplayPort to accompany the single HDMI 2.1. The only thing missing is an SD card slot for all the creative types who—for some reason—want dancing LEDs on the back of their laptop lid. See Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 at Amazon Most gaming laptops of this size demand to be plugged in constantly, and the Strix Scar 18 is no exception. Even while on silent mode doing casual work, I only got a little less than four hours before the laptop was begging me for more juice. Off power, running the machine on performance mode for the sake of gaming, you'd be lucky to get two hours of battery life, or closer to one hour for games that demand higher power draw. The 90Wh battery proved it wasn't enough for a beast of this size, and you'll need to lug around the 380W power brick if you plan to take the device from room to room. Asus spent most of its engineering time developing the Strix Scar 18 refresh, focusing on what was happening underneath the big keyboard. Asus secretly made the Strix Scar 18 one of the more easily customizable gaming laptops available today. The bottom panel comes off with a single switch to reveal the battery, RAM, and SSD. The motherboard and other components are still concealed with a plastic frame that is held on by screws. My model had an easily accessible second slot that would only require me to plug in another solid-state drive to potentially double my storage. I've had to open up previous ROG Strix laptops after I encountered a fault that wouldn't boot the laptop, and that proved an hour-long chore just to unseat and reattach the battery. The quick-release switch will make it easier to clean out dust and keep your device running better for longer. Sure, it's not as customizable as a Framework laptop that lets you replace the entire motherboard if you so choose. But compared to most other gaming laptops, this design is so enticing; I wish all other laptops would go this route. That won't necessarily mean you'll be able to replace other CPU components sometime in the future, but with the specs on my review unit, I wouldn't imagine needing any kind of CPU or GPU upgrade for a long while. I ran my usual benchmarks across the usual gamut of synthetic tests, games, and rendering tasks. The laptop performed exactly as expected. It was worse than the Omen Max 16 when using that laptop in its overclocked mode, but the Strix Scar 18 will grant you more than playable frame rates in demanding games from Cyberpunk 2077 to Alan Wake II with a bevy of ray tracing options enabled. You won't get the absolute peak of performance without an RTX 5090 installed, but considering those prices, I still believe the RTX 5080 is the GPU gamers really want. The rest of the specs are exactly what you expect from a modern $3,400 gaming laptop. The mini-LED display is plenty bright and colorful. The display has a special layer that keeps reflections and glare to a minimum, even in direct sunlight. Even with Dolby Vision for HDR support, for the amount you're paying, I still miss the inky depths of an OLED display. The display can support up to a 240Hz refresh rate, which means that your games playing at up to 240 fps will look their best, though it lacks variable refresh rate, or VRR, to ensure there won't be screen tearing issues or other visual glitches in games running far below that. I'll admit, the ROG Strix Scar 18's overt lighting and huge, empty keyboard didn't leave the best first impression. Once I dug into it—literally—I discovered this may be one of my favorite laptops of the year and a contender for your best choice of an 18-inch desktop replacement device. It's got the screen, sound quality, and feel you need to contain your gaming all-in-one. More than that, it shows Asus is pushing repairability a little further through small innovations to the rear panel. Let's keep pushing in that direction, and maybe we'll come to a point where we can buy a single laptop and not have to spend another $3,400 a few years down the line. See Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 at Amazon
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Falling Prices, NVMe Adoption, and Demand for High-Capacity, High-Speed Storage in Data-Driven Industries Fueling Expansion
The SSD market is projected to grow from USD 35.545 billion in 2025 to USD 72.657 billion in 2030, driven by performance enhancements and declining prices. NVMe tech boosts SSD speed, meeting cloud and data center needs. North America leads, while Asia Pacific sees rapid growth due to IT expansion. Solid State Drive Market Dublin, July 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Solid State Drive Market - Forecasts from 2025 to 2030" report has been added to solid-state drive market is expected to grow from USD 35.545 billion in 2025 to USD 72.657 billion in 2030, at a CAGR of 15.37%.The SSD market is propelled by declining prices, making these drives more accessible across industries. The adoption of Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) technology has significantly improved SSD performance, offering faster data transfer rates and reduced latency. These advancements cater to the growing needs of cloud customers and data centers, where high-speed, reliable storage is critical. Additionally, SSDs' advantages - such as lower power and space consumption, resistance to physical shocks, and faster boot times - further drive their adoption. The development of high-capacity SSDs presents significant growth potential. These drives meet the escalating storage demands of industries handling large datasets, such as life sciences and financial services. The push for denser storage solutions supports complex operations, positioning SSDs as a cornerstone of modern data management and fueling market expansion over the forecast period. Market Segmentation By Interface TypeThe SSD market is segmented by interface type into SATA, SAS, Fibre Channel, and ATA/IDE. The SATA interface dominates due to its lower cost, smaller cable size, and efficient data transfer via higher signaling rates and I/O queuing protocols. SATA's compatibility with older desktop PCs upgrading from HDDs, combined with its affordability compared to other interfaces, ensures its significant market share. SAS drives, offering varied endurance options to match specific workloads, are also gaining traction in enterprise End-User IndustryBy end-user industry, the market is divided into automotive, aerospace and defense, medical, consumer electronics, and others. The automotive sector holds a substantial share due to the integration of advanced technologies in vehicles, requiring reliable storage for data-intensive systems. Consumer electronics also command a significant share, driven by the miniaturization of devices and the industry's focus on efficient, high-performance storage Outlook North America: Market LeaderNorth America is projected to hold the largest market share, driven by advanced storage solutions and substantial enterprise spending on IT infrastructure. Companies in the region prioritize SSDs to enhance business productivity and maintain competitive advantages, particularly in data centers and technology-driven Pacific: Fastest GrowthThe Asia Pacific region is expected to experience the fastest growth, fueled by booming IT infrastructure in emerging economies like China and India. The region's thriving consumer electronics industry, coupled with the presence of global players like Toshiba, Micron, and Samsung, drives market expansion. For instance, in June 2023, Micron Technology announced a US$825 million investment to build DRAM and NAND assemblies, including SSDs, in Gujarat, India, highlighting the region's growing Benefits of this Report: Insightful Analysis: Gain detailed market insights covering major as well as emerging geographical regions, focusing on customer segments, government policies and socio-economic factors, consumer preferences, industry verticals, and other sub-segments. Competitive Landscape: Understand the strategic maneuvers employed by key players globally to understand possible market penetration with the correct strategy. Market Drivers & Future Trends: Explore the dynamic factors and pivotal market trends and how they will shape future market developments. Actionable Recommendations: Utilize the insights to exercise strategic decisions to uncover new business streams and revenues in a dynamic environment. Caters to a Wide Audience: Beneficial and cost-effective for startups, research institutions, consultants, SMEs, and large enterprises. Report Coverage: Historical data from 2022 to 2024 & forecast data from 2025 to 2030 Growth Opportunities, Challenges, Supply Chain Outlook, Regulatory Framework, and Trend Analysis Competitive Positioning, Strategies, and Market Share Analysis Revenue Growth and Forecast Assessment of segments and regions including countries Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 150 Forecast Period 2025 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2025 $35.55 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $72.66 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 15.3% Regions Covered Global Company Profiling (Strategies, Products, Financial Information, and Key Developments) Intel Corporation SAMSUNG Kingston Technology Europe Co LLP Western Digital Corporation Micron Technology, Inc. SK hynix Inc. Seagate Technology LLC KIOXIA Corporation ATP Electronics, Inc. Segmentation: By Interface Type SATA SAS Fibre Channel ATA/IDE By End-User Industry Automotive Aerospace and Defense Medical Consumer Electronics Others By Geography North America USA Canada Mexico South America Brazil Argentina Others Europe Germany France United Kingdom Spain Others Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia UAE Others Asia Pacific China Japan South Korea India Indonesia Thailand Taiwan Others For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Solid State Drive Market CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data