Many gamers are eagerly awaiting CES 2025. Not only are we said to be getting Nvidia 's RTX 50 series , but we should also see some next-gen gaming laptops make their debut during the event.
However, according to a new leak, these next-gen laptops may not be next-gen across the board, with so many processors to choose from, we may end up with configurations that focus on the new GPUs while sticking with the older CPUs.
With Intel set to launch laptop versions of Arrow Lake in early 2025, and AMD working on the Ryzen AI 300 Max, some beastly laptops are expected to be revealed at CES 2025, but the Golden Pig Upgrade Pack on Weibo is different.
This was first shared by VideoCardz, and while this user has been a fairly reliable source for device leaks so far, it's important to take it all with a grain of salt.
According to the leaker, we may primarily see laptops using Nvidia's RTX 50 series, but even high-end versions may choose to stick with previous-generation laptop CPUs, including chips like Intel's updated Raptor Lake or AMD's Zen 4 under the Ryzen 8000 name. More specifically, the leaker is referring to AMD's Core i7-14650HX and Zen 4.
This would certainly be an unexpected configuration, and both AMD and Intel are said to be unveiling their next-generation laptop chips at CES 2025, so it makes sense to see laptop manufacturers pair these chips with Nvidia's best graphics cards.
However, there may be some reasons for such design choices.
For starters, the current generation of desktop CPUs is largely seen as disappointing, and if their laptop counterparts are going to see similar gains from generation to generation, laptop manufacturers may not feel the need to offer these upgrades in any significant capacity, and the latest chips are sure to be more expensive, so that's also a factor.
There are also several generations of modern laptop CPUs to choose from, with several chips released by AMD in the past two years as well as Intel's Lunar Lake, Meteor Lake, and Raptor Lake updates.
If there isn't a significant difference, manufacturers may focus on achieving performance improvements with next-generation GPUs while cutting costs and using last-generation CPUs.
If some hardware versions don’t work together, we may miss out on seeing next-gen CPUs paired with next-gen graphics cards and won’t see these laptops until later in the year. CES 2025 in January should provide all the answers.