CES 2024 is wrapping up and it’s been a crazy week full of PC and gadget showcases. Intel launched its laptop-focused Core Ultra series processors at the end of 2023, so we expected a number of the usual vendors to launch gaming laptops supporting the Meteor Lake chip. All in all, it wasn’t as much as we hoped to see, but there’s still plenty to be excited about.
The first thing to note is that almost all major laptop manufacturers have announced at least one model powered by an Intel Core Ultra CPU; the most notable exception is Gigabyte, which doesn’t use it at all. But most of these are not marketed as gaming laptops.
While the integrated GPU in the majority of the Core Ultra series is good enough to handle entry-level games, you’re much better off considering PCs with at least an RTX 4060 or equivalent to ensure you can enjoy a decent gaming experience.
Maple
So far, Acer has only one gaming laptop up to the Sport Meteor Lake: 16 inches Predator Trion Neo. Ridiculous name aside, it looks like a solid laptop, but that depends on what configuration you can get. The highest-spec version will have the Core Ultra 9 185H with six P cores, eight E cores, two LPE cores and a boost clock of up to 5.1GHz. You’ll be able to go up to an RTX 4070 for graphics tasks, but it’s unknown what power limit it will have.
As for RAM and storage, these details are yet to be confirmed, but we do know that the 16-inch display will have 3.2K resolution (3200 x 2000 at 16:10 ratio) and a 165Hz refresh rate. The case is pretty dull, but the keyboard offers the usual RGB lighting needed for gaming.
Prices are expected to start at $1,499/€1,799 for the base Predator Trion Neo 16 model. This seems a bit high compared to the competition, but if the amount of RAM and the size of the SSD are sufficient then it may be worth considering.
Alienware
Dell announced two similarly named Core Ultra models under the Alienware brand at CES 2024. m16R2 And x16 R2. The first of these is a significant update to the original m16; The chassis takes up 15% less space and overall cooling is also improved. Just like Acer offers, you’ll be able to get up to Core Ultra 9 185 and RTX 4070 internals; Up to 64GB dual-channel DDR5-5600 and up to 8TB NVMe dual SSDs are offered in most markets.
The screen will be QHD + (2560 x 1600, 16:10) and will offer a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz. Keeping this all running while you’re on the go is a 90Wh battery that can be charged to 80% capacity in 35 minutes.
On paper the x16 R2 looks very similar to the m16 as the CPU, display and storage options are all the same. But while the m16 boasts a 115W RTX 4070, the x16 can be configured to boast a 175W RTX 4090. You won’t go crazy with the RAM since there’s a maximum of 32GB. Fortunately, the most expensive model is the LPDDR5X-7467, which is fast enough for gaming.
The M16 R2 will launch with a base price of $1,699.99, but additional configurations will be available later in the year, with the entry model costing $1,499. The x16 R2, on the other hand, will be even more expensive, starting at $2,099.99 with the 140W RTX 4060.
HP
Like Acer, HP announced only one gaming laptop with Meteor Lake. Omen Aşkın 14. The configurations are very similar to the others we’ve seen: Core Ultra 7 155H or Core Ultra 9 185H option. The insides of these CPUs are exactly the same, differing only in base power (24W vs 45W) and maximum boost clock (4.8 vs 5.1GHz).
Rendering tasks will be handled by an RTX 4050, 4060 or 4070 GPU, but HP did not say what the power limits are. RAM and storage options are quite good; The 16GB LPDDR5X-7467 and 512GB SSD are the bare minimum, but we’d like 1TB to be the smallest drive offered.
The 14-inch OLED display is 2.8K (2880 x 1800, 26:20 ratio) and the highest refresh rate is 120Hz. This is a little lower than the others, but being OLED should make up for it. Power is provided by a relatively small 71Wh battery, but it will come with a 140W USB-C charger that is claimed to restore 50% of the battery’s charge in 30 minutes.
And yes, there is an RGB keyboard. Naturally. The starting price for the Omen Transcend 14 will start at $1,499.99, and if the power limit of these RTX GPUs is towards the upper end of the spectrum, it could be a bit of a winner.
MSI
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that MSI went a little overboard with its new laptop models at CES, and almost its entire portable computer portfolio was renewed. Unfortunately, almost all of them have been fitted with an AI moniker to ensure you never forget that 2024 is the year of the AI PC.
Anyway, the first place in the game ranking Cyborg 15 Artificial Intelligence. There won’t be many variants of this model and they will all use the same CPU, namely Core Ultra 7 155H. This processor seems to be the most common among all Meteor Lake laptops, not just gaming ones.
For graphics duties you can choose between the 45W RTX 4050 or RTX 4060, but there’s really only one option since the former only has 6GB of VRAM (hint: it’s not the 4050). Even so, the 45W 4060 unfortunately will not offer you the best gaming performance.
RAM will max out at 64GB, but there’s no indication of the minimum amount offered or what the SSD options will be like. The IPS panel is a pretty standard 1080p 144Hz affair, but that suits the RTX 4060 pretty well, so it shouldn’t be an issue. However, the battery is only 53.5Wh, which is a bit small for a 2kg laptop.
Meteor Lake also appears in the new movie Pulse 16/17 AI range. Strangely, both models feature IPS displays with the same resolution and refresh rate (2560 x 1440, 240Hz), but it’s unclear why MSI decided a 17-inch version was necessary.
You’ll be able to choose up to a Core Ultra 9 185H processor and a 140W RTX 4060 or 4070 GPU. Memory will once again hit 64GB, but if the Cyborg only has one M.2 slot (so make sure you don’t buy one with a small SSD), both Pulse models come with two. The batteries are also much better, with 90Wh capacity, and MSI ships these laptops with 240W chargers.
Weighing 2.5 and 2.8 kg respectively, the Pulse 16/17 AI laptops are quite heavy-duty. Prices aren’t clear at the moment, but considering the Pulse’s powerful features, it won’t be cheap. On the other hand, Cyborg doesn’t have cutting-edge, power-hungry hardware, so it can be quite reasonably priced. What about 45W RTX? That’s a no from me.