Unveiling the Dark Truth Behind Nvidia’s RTX 5070 Gaming Laptops

CES 2025 was beneficial for gamers, who enjoyed Nvidia’s latest GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs alongside teasers of AMD’s forthcoming Radeon RX 9070 GPUs.

Additionally, we witnessed the reveal of the laptop versions of the GeForce RTX 50 Series, with a diverse selection commencing with the RTX 5070. Following that in the lineup would be the RTX 5070 Ti, then RTX 5080, and lastly RTX 5090 variants, each carrying progressively higher price points.

Nvidia

The RTX 5070 laptop variant stands out to me with its considerably lower cost of merely $1,299. However, if that appears appealing to you, be cautious — it also conceals a significant flaw.

8GB of VRAM Isn’t Sufficient in 2025

The starting price of $1,299 for the GeForce RTX 5070 laptop may look attractive initially, especially when contrasted with the premium RTX 5090 starting at $2,899, but it is outfitted with only 8GB of VRAM.

Indeed, it offers the same technology as its pricier counterparts, including DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation. The introduction of advanced 5th-gen tensor cores and 4th-gen ray tracing (RT) cores also provides an upgrade across the entire lineup. Moreover, the VRAM is of the fast and efficient GDDR7 type, which is new for RTX 50 Series Blackwell GPUs.

However, that marks the conclusion of the positive news. Despite the VRAM being of the new generation, possessing only 8GB is still severely lacking as we approach 2025.

The features Nvidia desires you to utilize, such as ray tracing and enhanced texture gaming, suffer significantly due to VRAM constraints. Nvidia likely expects that its series of hardware enhancements, such as refined RT cores, tensor cores, and DLSS 4, may compensate for some of that deficit.

PCWorld’s Adam Patrick Murray shared a quote from a press Q&A with Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang regarding the RTX 5070’s 8GB of VRAM: “We aim to achieve a harmony between the [entire system]. We do not always achieve the correct harmony, but that is our objective.”

This statement is revealing. Even Nvidia appears to acknowledge that having 8GB of VRAM isn’t optimal, yet they are comfortable sacrificing that aspect to obtain “harmony” for the entire system — which, in this instance, likely translates to maintaining that attractive price tag.

Naturally, it isn’t simple to merely “add more VRAM.” Achieving that entails navigating GPU specifications and considering what the hardware can endure without compromising other aspects of the laptop’s design. Nvidia must also take into account the slender profile of its devices, as well as power efficiency and battery duration. All these factors are crucial, and it is much more achievable when you only have 8GB of VRAM to manage.

Nvidia

Previously, gamers expressed discontent over 8GB desktop GPUs like the RTX 4060 Ti, which negatively impacted its overall popularity. While laptops frequently receive leniency regarding cutbacks due to necessary compromises for portability, having only 8GB of VRAM simply isn’t acceptable.

The desktop RTX 5070 is set to feature 12GB of VRAM, which is the minimum requirement for a next-gen GPU priced at $549.

AMD at least possesses the foresight to include 16GB of VRAM in its GPUs within this specific price bracket.

Nvidia

Indeed, one could rationalize this by stating that discrete GPUs generally feature superior specifications and greater VRAM than mobile variants. After all, the laptop versions of the RTX 4090 included 16GB of VRAM, which falls notably short by 8GB compared to the desktop RTX 4090. However, Nvidia is aware that gamers desire increased VRAM. Just observe the newly introduced 16GB RTX 4070 Ti Super, which rendered the original 12GB RTX 4070 Ti obsolete. So, what’s the reason for the 8GB selection here?

This choice brings up another inquiry: Will the desktop RTX 5060 variant also be limited to just 8GB of VRAM like the RTX 40 Series? We remain hopeful that this is not the case. Nevertheless, the presence of an 8GB RTX 5070 on the laptop front does not inspire confidence regarding those additional products.

Is there a silver lining to this?

Aside from the cost, one slight positive aspect is that the power consumption of the RTX 5070 laptop is expected to be in the range of 50 to 100 watts, which is a minor enhancement compared to the RTX 5070 Ti laptop that falls within the 60 to 115-watt bracket. Yet, while every watt is crucial in a compact design, I wager that gamers would prefer to sacrifice some heat and battery longevity for additional GBs of VRAM.

It’s truly challenging to uncover any advantages concerning 8GB of VRAM in 2025. Nvidia does have its Blackwell architecture updates and the more effective hardware of the RTX 5070 to highlight, along with AI-enhanced upgrades through DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation. But do the 5th-generation tensor cores and 4th-generation RT cores suffice to keep 8GB of VRAM functional? Even if the response is affirmative, it’s undeniable that they would provide even more support with 12GB of VRAM.

It’s difficult to validate 8GB of VRAM in a high-end gaming laptop. We questioned its appropriateness during a Full Nerd podcast episode from 2023, as we recognize that numerous contemporary games can easily falter with such limited VRAM. Even Apple has surpassed the 8GB benchmark for its entry-level Macs, and we are all aware of how frugal Apple can be regarding specifications.

Based on initial specifications, the new RTX 5070 laptop appears to be a no-go. You would likely be better served with the RTX 5070 Ti model for merely a few hundred dollars more. Naturally, we won’t have definite insights until we perform our comprehensive reviews… but I suspect the outcomes will affirm that 8GB of VRAM simply won’t suffice in the current gaming environment.

If you’re seeking a robust gaming laptop at a reasonable price, explore our selections for the best gaming laptops under $1,000.