High-Refresh Gaming Laptops

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Razer Announces Its 2026 Blade 18 With Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus

Edited by Adam Harrie — May 22, 2026 — Tech
This article was written with the assistance of AI.
Razer introduced the 2026 Blade 18, a premium 18-inch gaming laptop featuring Intel’s Core Ultra 9 290HX processor and an integrated AI-focused NPU delivering up to 13 TOPS of compute power for on-device acceleration tasks. The system launches in configurations with Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 graphics, alongside up to 128 GB DDR5 memory and as much as 2 TB PCIe Gen 4 storage.

The laptop includes a dual-mode display capable of switching between UHD+ at 240 Hz and FHD+ at 440 Hz, with 100% DCI-P3 color coverage and Calman verification. Connectivity features include Thunderbolt 5, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7, HDMI 2.1 and a UHS-II SD card reader, while a 99 WHr battery and 400 W adapter support its high-performance hardware.

For gamers and creators, the Blade 18 combines desktop-class components with portable design, reflecting continued demand for high-refresh displays, AI-enhanced workflows and premium large-format gaming laptops.

Image Credit: Razer
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Trend Themes

  1. High-refresh Mobile Displays — Ultra-high refresh rates in large-format laptops enable new visual workflows that prioritize fluid motion fidelity for competitive gaming and fast-paced content review.
  2. On-device AI Acceleration — Integrated NPUs providing multi-TOPS inference create possibilities for low-latency, privacy-preserving AI features such as real-time upscaling, noise reduction, and intelligent game/stream assistance.
  3. Desktop-class Portable Hardware — Desktop-level GPUs and expanded memory/storage in thin-and-light chassis shift expectations toward true workstation performance in mobile form factors for prosumers.

Industry Implications

  1. Gaming Hardware — Premium, high-refresh laptops expand the market for modular cooling, power delivery, and accessory ecosystems tailored to sustained high-performance gaming.
  2. Content Creation Tools — AI-enabled on-device processing opens pathways for software that offloads heavy editing tasks locally, reducing reliance on cloud rendering pipelines.
  3. Wireless Connectivity Infrastructure — Advances like Wi‑Fi 7 and multi-port Thunderbolt support prompt demand for higher-throughput local networking solutions and low-latency peripheral hubs.
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