Puget Systems has found that laptops now perform almost as well as their desktop counterparts, providing a compelling reason for users to consider switching to a more mobile option.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to point that out Puget’s findings were based on comparing the company’s own mobile workstation to desktops with similar content creation specifications, and that comparing other systems from other manufacturers could yield completely different findings.
Puget Systems, which makes custom PCs tailored to individual workflows, recently re-entered the laptop market after quitting in 2016 due to a lack of laptop hardware “that met our quality standards.” It has now announced the launch of a new mobile workstation.
Similar performance
Featuring an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile GPU, the Puget Mobile 17-inch laptop is designed to deliver desktop-level performance in a compact, mobile package. It is a powerful machine that is capable of a 24-core CPU and RTX 4090 Mobile GPU and can accommodate up to three NVMe M.2 SSDs and 96 GB of RAM.
In testing, the new mobile workstation delivered approximately 80% of the performance of a desktop system equipped with an Intel Core i9 14900K and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER GPU. Compared to an AMD Ryzen 7900X system with the same GPU, the mobile workstation performed even better, delivering approximately 88% of the desktop’s performance.
For many of the workflows tested, the laptop performed similarly to the desktop with an Intel Core i7 14700K with an RTX 4070 GPU.
Although prices for the laptop came in higher than desktop equivalents, the price includes components such as a screen and battery backup, which are not included in desktop prices.
Puget Systems’ findings indicate that laptops are closing the performance gap with desktops, offering comparable performance at a similar price, with the added benefit of portability. This makes a compelling argument for users to consider making the switch from desktop to laptop.
While this study focused on the performance of the new mobile workstation when plugged into a power source, Puget Systems says it plans to conduct further testing to determine battery life, performance on battery power, and comparisons to the Apple MacBook Pro to review.