You can buy this AMD rig with 7 water-cooled Nvidia RTX 5090 GPUs and receive it in a week but it will cost $102,000
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At least two workstation specialists have put supercharged PCs with Nvidia RTX 5090 GPUs on sale over the past few days. The most impressive of them all is the Bizon ZX5500 which packs up to seven (yes, seven) water-cooled 32GB RTX 5090 GPUs in a tall tower casing. This is the best GPU ever built and buying it through system builders seems to be the only way to avoid months-long wait.
While BizonTech's solution will probably feature in our best workstation guide, it is not as expansive as Comino's Grando server, which has eight RTX 5090 GPUs, but the latter has yet to get a launch date (I contacted Comino for more details).
The ZX5500 doesn't come cheap at just under $102,000 with the GPUs accounting the lion share (more than 83%) of the total cost. That's almost 3x the price of MIFCOM's Big Boss which has seven liquid-cooled RTX 4090 GPUs.
A beefier 6Kw power supply unit plus and the cards cost an extra $85,000 compared to the same system with a pair of RTX 5080 (with 16GB VRAM each). As a reminder, the suggested retail price of the RTX 5090 is 'just' $2000.
The ZX5500 can be updated to a 96-core ThreadRipper Pro CPU with 1TB of DDR5 RAM, almost 1PB of PCIe 4.0 SSDs (15 x 61.44TB SSD) and seven liquid-cooled Nvidia H200 AI GPU; such a configuration pushes the price above half a million US Dollars.
Bizontech is a niche boutique vendor that specializes in servers, workstations and clusters for AI, deep learning and HPC. The RTX 5090 is sold out pretty much everywhere and it seems that Nvidia is prioritizing business and creative outlets like Bizontech, Puget Systems and Punch Technology, with workstations seemingly ready to be shipped within days rather than week.
Jon Bach, President, Puget Systems told me, 'Supply for the 5090 (and the 5080) is very limited, and we expect that to be the case for at least through March. Puget Systems has a good number of cards in hand at the moment because of our OEM relationships, but we appear to be somewhat unusual in that respect. Overall, we are filling orders, but expect our lead times to be affected until supply improves."
The creative crowd will love the RTX 5090 as it obliterates absolutely everything in its path but at a price. Puget Systems and Storagereview benchmarked it across a wide range of AI and creative tests and found that it performed significantly better than previous generations (and AMD's finest cards) albeit with a much higher power station.
TechRadar's John Loeffler published a review of the RTX 5090 recently, calling it the supercar of graphics cards and asking whether it was simply too powerful, suggesting that it is an absolute glutton for wattage. He continues, 'It's overkill, especially if you only want it for gaming, since monitors that can truly handle the frames this GPU can put out are likely years away.'
This, of course, will be irrelevant to Nvidia's plans to launch an even more powerful version of the RTX 5090, one with a rumored 96GB GDDR7 memory which will replace the RTX 6000 ADA in due time. If this card follows the same inflationary trajectory as its consumer version then I won't be surprised if its ticket price reaches $15,000, making it the most expensive graphics card of all time.
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3 days ago
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Micro Center soft opened its Silicon Valley store with a truckload of GPUs.
The grand opening is tomorrow at 10AM PT, but you can already go shop — I even got a special look inside its GPU-filled stockroom! There's a buttload of cards, including an RTX 5090 signed by Jensen (not for sale), plenty of AMD 9070, and it'll have 'very limited quantities' of Founders Edition (including the 5090 FE) tomorrow. Maybe open the boxes before you leave, though. The highlight for me: a giant motorized revolving 3D filament wall which dispenses your color of choice. 1/19
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Doom The Dark Ages is my favorite kind of nightmare — this is how it runs on an RTX 5090 gaming laptop
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. I got the chance to jump into Doom: The Dark Ages on an RTX 5090 gaming laptop, and let me tell you, it feels good blasting away demons in this high-fidelity, beautiful nightmare. Doom: The Dark Ages is the latest entry in the Doom reboot franchise. It takes place before Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, at a time when the Slayer was bound by gods and kings to combat the forces of hell. It's like if medieval fantasy and Doom had a baby, and I love it (insert sob emoji here). I played Doom: The Dark Ages on an HP Omen Max 16 outfitted with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 24GB GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz, OLED display. Here's how it ran. I wasted no time jumping into the hardest difficulty… Well, not the hardest. I don't have it in me to get my whole save wiped in Pandemonium or Ultra-Nightmare, so I went with regular ol' Nightmare. However, for the graphic settings, I pulled that level like Kronk all the way to Ultra Nightmare, 2560 x 1600, and that applies to all of the following tests below. Now, Nvidia's RTX 5090 and all of its RTX 50-series siblings boast DLSS 4, which is a super sampling technology that boosts visuals and performance. I've been somewhat critical of the technology due to my fear of developers relying on Multi-Frame Generation too heavily in order to optimize their performance (ahem, Monster Hunter Wilds). So naturally, the first thing I did was turn off all of that. I started tearing through demons in the Village of Khalim with the upscaler set to its default, TAA (there's no option to turn off upscaling). After Oblivion: Remastered scorned me with its sub-60 fps performance, I had my doubts that the RTX 5090 could pull through. But to Nvidia's credit, and id Software's for optimizing their game so well, I got a sweet 85 fps. Getting above 60 fps on a laptop with a 1600p display is ideal. However, I do like playing with the DLSS 4 upscaler, especially when set to DLAA, which maintains the native resolution while also enhancing the visuals. I expected the performance to be about the same as TAA or maybe better, but when I thrashed some devils with my new power gauntlet, it came back with 50 fps. It's not terrible, but it's not 60 fps. This is when I turned to Frame Generation (2x) and Multi-Frame Generation (4x). This technology uses AI to create frames for every true frame, 2x being one for one and 4x being one for three. It's pretty cool in theory, but it has its issues, like occasional fuzziness or artifacting. I didn't notice anything egregious in Doom: The Dark Ages, but you may have a different experience than I. I leapt back into the fray, doubling up on my aggression (turning on 2x FG), and I broke demon spines at 82 fps. That's a more comfortable frame rate, but I'm surprised FG couldn't push it further than TAA. But of course, cranking it up to MFG (4x), I saw a blistering 140 fps. Using DLAA provides the most optimal visuals outside of raw performance. However, if you want to make use of that high refresh rate display, set the DLSS to Ultra Performance. I bounced across the battlefield like my child when I say we're going outside, which got me a smooth 131 fps. And that's without frame generation. Popping on FG (2x) bumped me up to 178 fps. Then, meleeing my way to MFG (4x), the RTX 5090 blasted through the Omen's 240Hz display with a score of 260 fps. It's nice to see that id Software took care in optimizing the performance of Doom: The Dark Ages. Some beloved AAA games have failed to present respectable frames at max settings even on the most powerful hardware to date. Right now, id Software's minimum spec requirement for Doom: The Dark Ages is an RTX 2060 Super or AMD RX 6600 GPU. That's a little higher than I'd like it to be, but it feels honest considering the performance I got. But overall, if you're interested in getting one of the best gaming laptops, you can expect some slayer performance.
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I've found a gaming laptop that costs more than my NYC rent, but I have no regrets
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Desktop replacement gaming laptops can be a difficult category to categorize, as they're often as expensive as they are powerful. But the MSI Raider might make all that power worth it. MSI's new Raider 18 HX AI features a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU with 16GB of VRAM, which offers the gaming performance you might expect from such a high-end spec. Its 18-inch MiniLED display is bright and vivid, its 6-speaker sound system is powerful with high-quality audio, and its keyboard is bouncy and comfortable to type on. It's also got more ports than I know what to do with. Unfortunately, the Raider costs more than a month's rent in New York City, has the fans to heat an NYC apartment, and does not have enough battery life to survive long once you step outside the door. Not that we recommend commuting with an 18-inch gaming laptop. But is the MSI Raider 18 HX AI powerful enough to replace your desktop? Has MSI delivered one of the best gaming laptops of this generation? Let's find out. Click to view full benchmark test results Powerful gaming laptops command premium prices, and the MSI Raider is no different. Starting at a whopping $3,699, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI features an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 with 16GB VRAM, 64GB of system memory, a 2TB SSD, and an 18-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz IPS display. While this is a staggeringly high price tag for a starting configuration, you are getting an incredibly powerful machine with the base model, so it's money well spent. If you can run down to your local Micro Center, this configuration is currently on sale for $700 off. Our $4,499 review model has the same CPU, GPU, and memory combination, but opts for a dual 2TB SSD storage configuration and has an upgraded, 18-inch, 3840 x 2400, 120Hz MiniLED display. So the Raider is expensive, but it justifies that price tag. You can upgrade the Raider's graphics card to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 with 24GB VRAM for an additional $800. The entry RTX 5090 configuration features the base 2560 x 1600p, 240Hz IPS panel and costs $4,499. Upgrading to the 3840 x 2400, 120Hz MiniLED panel with the RTX 5090 will set you back an astounding $5,389. While these prices are high, they're also not out of pocket. All of the RTX 50-series laptops so far have been pricey. The Razer Blade 16 (2025) with an RTX 5090 costs $4,499. The Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 costs $3,099 for an RTX 5080, and the HP Omen 16 Max costs $4,299 for an RTX 5090. Unlike these other 50-series laptops, the MSI Raider is an 18-inch desktop replacement that comes with upgrades to memory and storage, even at its base $3,699 price. So the Raider is expensive, but it justifies that price tag. But my favorite detail of this particular MSI chassis is the alternating red and black vent covers... The MSI Raider 18 HX AI features a similar chassis to the 2024 model, still in that Core Black colorway with a minimalist RGB light strip below the keyboard deck and a backlit MSI logo on the cover panel. The keyboard deck is relatively simple, with some speaker and thermal vents along the outside and an optional fingerprint scanner, so you can focus on what's important: the customizable RGB lighting. But my favorite detail of this particular MSI chassis is the alternating red and black vent covers along the rear and sides of the chassis, which add a nice bit of contrast to the hefty design. MSI has a similar aesthetic going on the Titan, though those contrasting details are blue on the flagship desktop replacement. As for size, calling the Raider 'large and in charge' is perhaps underselling it. The Raider measures 15.91 x 12.11 x 0.94~1.26 inches and weighs 7.8 pounds. It is a beast of a machine. Despite owning multiple large computer backpacks, I don't own a single one that is large enough to handle the Raider's sheer size. Granted, the Raider isn't intended for heavy commuting, but if you plan to take it with you to the occasional LAN party, you might want to invest in one of the best laptop backpacks to make sure you can haul the Raider without needing to realign your spine. The new design makes the Raider less portable than the other Nvidia 50-series laptops we've seen so far, though it is comparable to last year's MSI Titan 18 HX: Razer Blade 16 (2025): 13.98 x 9.86 x 0.59~0.69, 4.6 pounds Gigabyte Aorus Master 16: 14.05 x 10 x 0.91~1.18 inches, 5.5 pounds MSI Titan 18 HX (2024): 15.9 x 12.1 x 1.3 inches, 7.9 pounds Image 1 of 3 Image 2 of 3 Image 3 of 3 MSI has packed more ports than I know what to do with on the Raider's chassis. Befitting a desktop-replacement laptop, this port array should have just about everything you need to connect all your game accessories: 2x Thunderbolt 5 (DisplayPort, Power Delivery 3.1) 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1x HDMI 2.1 1x RJ45 ethernet 1x audio combo jack 1x SD Express card reader 1x Kensington security lock This should be enough ports for most gamers, but streamers may still want to invest in one of the best laptop docking stations or USB-C hubs to connect additional monitors, a professional webcam, a studio microphone, and a stream deck in addition to any gaming accessories. Thanks to Nvidia's investment in its BatteryBoost tech, the Raider lasts a bit longer than you'd expect while gaming. Gaming laptop battery life is traditionally not very good, as most gaming laptops are built with power-intensive CPUs and discrete GPUs. There have been a few notable exceptions, but the Raider 18 HX AI is a 260W (watt) system, designed as a desktop replacement laptop. So it's not really built for operating on battery power. Which explains its truly abysmal web surfing and gaming battery life. The Raider lasted just 2 hours and 33 minutes on the Laptop Mag web surfing test. But if you do need to use the Raider unplugged, it gets enough battery life to send a few last-minute emails before you need to hunt down an outlet. Thanks to Nvidia's investment in its BatteryBoost tech, the Raider lasts a bit longer than you'd expect while gaming. The Raider 18 HX managed to survive for 1 hour and 46 minutes on the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which is more competitive compared to other 50-series laptops like the Razer Blade 16 (2025) and Gigabyte Aorus Master 16. Click to view chart data in table format For a premium desktop replacement laptop like the Raider, the miniLED panel is more than just a utility feature; it's a key selling point. Our review unit featured an 18-inch, 3840 x 2400, 120Hz matte miniLED display panel, so naturally, it looked amazing whether I was streaming video or playing games. I typically like testing gaming monitors with Avowed these days, as the game's opening zone presents a wide color palette, and I was not disappointed with the Raider's display quality at all. The corals along the shipwrecked beach of Fort Northreach were simply stunning in how bright and crisply detailed they appeared against the stormy gray skies and weather-beaten wood of the wrecked ship in the background. MiniLED displays have better contrast and better HDR performance than standard LED/LCD panels, with higher brightness than most OLEDs. And the Raider is no exception. With a peak brightness average of 668 nits and an 83.1% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, the Raider is nearly glare-proof and more than vibrant enough for a satisfying gaming experience. The Raider also supports HDR, with an HDR peak brightness of 793 nits. So if you're playing a game with HDR support, or streaming HDR video, you'll get a nice bit of added brightness when needed, but without risk of burning out your retinas. For a premium desktop replacement laptop like the Raider, the miniLED panel is more than just a utility feature; it's a key selling point. And MSI did a fantastic job sourcing a bright, vibrant panel. Click to view chart data in table format. MSI has kept the Raider's keyboard deck relatively minimalist, with a few vents for the onboard audio and additional thermal control, so most of the massive 18-inch laptop's deck is left open for a full-size keyboard with a numpad and a large touchpad. MSI does offer an optional fingerprint reader, which is on the right-hand side of the deck, below the numpad. While it is floating on its own, it's in a pretty unobtrusive location that you can easily avoid if you don't plan on using the fingerprint scanner for added security. The keyboard itself features per-key RGB lighting, and was designed by SteelSeries. So it has a solid amount of bounce, and the keys are nicely spaced to avoid accidental mistypes. The keys are quiet but have a good amount of key travel, so your fingers won't bottom out while frantically typing directions in your raid chat. your fingers won't bottom out while frantically typing directions in your raid chat. On the advanced typing test, I averaged 88 words per minute (WPM) on the Raider's SteelSeries keyboard, which is identical to my average on the Apple MacBook Pro 14. MSI has centered the touchpad on the keyboard deck rather than on the space bar, which I prefer. However, the touchpad is large, measuring 5.4 x 3.4 inches. So, if you prefer your touchpad to be below the space bar, there's more than enough overlap between the two. The touchpad features a matte feel with just enough resistance for fine control. The top half of the touchpad is clickable but requires a bit more effort to click than the bottom half, which I'm not super fond of. However, I rarely click the top half of a touchpad, so I didn't notice it much in my day-to-day use of the Raider. I was pleasantly surprised by the Raider's sheer volume and high audio fidelity while taking part in the Blossom Dance event in Monster Hunter Wilds. MSI packed a 6-speaker sound system in the Raider, with 2 woofers and 4 tweeters, with top-firing audio output to ensure you get powerful volume and full quality. Typically, I don't expect a lot from gaming laptop sound systems, as so much else needs to fit into the chassis, and most gamers will opt for a pair of the best headphones or sound systems rather than rely on the built-in audio. So, I was pleasantly surprised by the Raider's sheer volume and high audio fidelity while taking part in the Blossom Dance event in Monster Hunter Wilds. As part of the event, Capcom included an in-game performance of the 'Song of the Beginning,' which originally debuted with Monster Hunter 2. The gentle ballad features delicate vocals and a rich orchestral accompaniment, which can be difficult to hear on a laptop sound system, but the Raider's six-speaker array had no problem keeping up, making each note hit with the right amount of power. In fact, the Raider's audio was actually too powerful when I spun up Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail. FFXIV's default volume tends to be on the loud side, but even with the Raider's speakers at 36%, I could easily hear the game over the sound of the Raider's fans. The Raider's cooling system is on the noisy side, which just makes the audio power even more impressive. The MSI Raider hits a max operating power of 260W thanks to MSI's OverBoost Ultra technology. While this does mean the Raider has atrocious battery life, its gaming performance is uncompromising. In terms of raw silicon power, the Raider was easily hitting over 100 frames per second at 1080p on most games, though more difficult titles like Black Myth: Wukong and Cyberpunk 2077 did give the Raider a bit more trouble. With the Raider's RTX 5080 GPU, you can also enable software upscaling like DLSS 4 and frame generation, which can offer a smoother experience with poorly optimized games like Avowed and Monster Hunter Wilds. In terms of raw silicon power, the Raider was easily hitting over 100 frames per second at 1080p on most games With DLSS 4 enabled at max 2400p resolution and High settings, I was easily able to keep a stable 47 fps in Monster Hunter Wilds. That rate jumped up to 70 fps with frame generation enabled, which is a pretty significant increase in playability. Though I will say, even at 47 fps, I was able to keep up with Wilds' tempered monsters with minimal difficulty. I saw similar improvements in Avowed, going from 77 fps at 2400p on High settings with only DLSS 4 to 115 fps with frame generation also toggled on. Without either, the game was hitting about 46 fps in terms of just pure Silicon performance. Lastly, I used the Raider to take on my Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail dailies, and was able to average 80 fps with the Raider at 2400p and High (Desktop) settings without any supersampling. Dropping the graphics down to High (Laptop) saw those frame rates cap at about 110 fps, generally staying in the ballpark of 95 fps during gameplay. Of course, you can get higher frame rates by dropping your game resolution down to 1600p or 1200p. But if I have an 18-inch desktop replacement laptop with a panel that hits 2400p, I'm going to do my best to game in 4K. Otherwise, why have such a nice display? Click to view chart data in table format. As for all-around performance, the Raider's Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is the top-of-the-line Intel mobile chip for this generation. Boasting desktop-quality performance, the 285HX has outperformed most other chipsets this generation, with the sole exception of the Apple M4 Pro. As for my hands-on testing, nothing I threw at the Raider made the fans kick on. From e-mail and spreadsheet management to Photoshop object selection, the Raider 18 handled it all with ease. As for my hands-on testing, nothing I threw at the Raider made the fans kick on. The Raider is powerful enough to handle any photo or video editing you might need, with a 5% increase in single-core performance over the previous generation and a 25% increase in multi-core performance. The Raider came just 1,000 points shy of matching the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro)'s Geekbench 6 multicore record. MSI claims the Raider 18 HX can achieve a Cinebench R23 multicore average of 40,000. Our own internal testing achieved a peak multicore score of 39,414. While that is about 600 points off, it's a performance difference of less than 2%. That's well within the standard variation for Cinebench. Of course, to get that kind of performance out of the Raider, you need to set the fans to Extreme Performance in MSI Center, which kicks them up to an incredibly loud volume. Of course, that fan noise does help reduce the heat output of the powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX/RTX 5080 combo. We did observe the Raider hit a high temperature of 115.3 degrees Fahrenheit on the F10 key while gaming, but that kind of heat is to be expected. The center of the keyboard and touchpad remained on the tolerable side, falling under 90 degrees. Click to view chart data in table format. MSI opted to use Intel's Core Ultra 9 200HX chipset in the Raider series, so while the CPU does have a small NPU built-in, it doesn't meet the threshold for Microsoft's Copilot+ suite of AI features. However, with an Intel chipset you do get access to Intel's AI Playground. You also get access to Nvidia's various RTX AI features like ChatRTX and RTX Remix for modding older games. MSI didn't load much AI software onto the Raider, so your best built-in AI feature on the laptop is MSI Center's AI Engine hardware performance scaling, which will switch between the iGPU or discrete graphics card as needed, for increased power efficiency. The MSI Raider 18 HX AI features a 1080p IR webcam, so it's ideal for Windows Hello sign in, and can handle the occasional video call or virtual meeting. Because the Raider's webcam is an IR camera, its color sensors are a bit distorted. The feed appears washed out, giving everything something of a halo effect. The feed is also on the grainy side, with a tendency to drop a pink cast over skin tones. If you're going to use the Raider for a lot of video calls or streaming, we'd recommend using one of our best webcams instead. The Raider 18 HX comes with Windows 11 Home, which includes a number of standard Windows apps already installed, like Microsoft Copilot, Office 365, and the Xbox App. MSI has included the MSI Center app to control your power profiles and settings, MSI App Player, and MSI True Color for display tweaks. While the number of pre-installed Windows applications is constantly growing, MSI added only three applications to the Raider, so it's not exactly bloatware. You have more software to contend with from Microsoft, Intel, and Nvidia. The Raider includes a 1-year limited service warranty. If you've got the money to spend, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a gaming laptop worthy of the term 'desktop replacement.' If you've got the money to spend, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a gaming laptop worthy of the term 'desktop replacement.' The Raider has strong general performance, fluid gaming performance, a bright MiniLED display, a comfortable keyboard, powerful audio, and more ports than you're likely to need, even with a multi-monitor setup. It's just expensive. The entry-level Raider costs $3,699. Granted, you aren't getting entry-level specs with that laptop, which can help offset the sheer magnitude of the price tag. But if you want similar performance, with a bit more portability and a more affordable price tag, you may be better off with the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16, which features similar specs for significantly less money. If you've got the cash to spare and portability is your key requirement, then the Razer Blade 16 (2025) is the way to go. After all, the Blade 16 is ultra-lightweight and sports a powerful GPU, up to the Nvidia RTX 5090. If you're still set on the 18-inch desktop replacement category but don't have unlimited funds, you could always look for the Raider's base configuration at your nearest Micro Center, as it's currently discounted at $700.
