Nvidia’s RTX 5090 laptop GPU is usually capped at 175 watts, a restriction meant to keep heat in check on portable machines. But in a recent hands-on test, YouTuber GizmoSlipTech, working alongside well-known modder Prema, found out just how much more the GPU could do. By pushing it to 250 watts, they managed to squeeze out performance gains of up to 41% in synthetic benchmarks.
A powerful test bench
The experiment used the Eluktronics Hydroc 16 G2, a high-end gaming laptop packed with Intel’s Core Ultra 9 275HX and 48 GB of DDR5-7200 RAM. Crucially, the laptop features a built-in water-cooling system—without that, the GPU likely wouldn’t have handled the extra heat generated by the mod. That cooling system turned out to be a key part of keeping everything stable.
Tuning the hardware
To get around the stock power limits, the team performed a shunt mod, which involves swapping out a resistor on the motherboard to override Nvidia’s factory settings. Alongside that, they installed a custom BIOS and fine-tuned the voltage-frequency curve. A bit of undervolting helped reduce excess heat, and in the end, the GPU hit boost clocks of 2.7 GHz—a big jump from the usual 2.0 GHz.
In tests like 3DMark Steel Nomad, the upgrade delivered impressive results: up to 41% higher scores. But when it came to actual games, the picture was more nuanced. Some titles only showed a small bump—around 4%—while others jumped closer to 30%. It really depended on how much the game leaned on the GPU.
GizmoSlipTech shared the full details in a Reddit post and a follow-up YouTube video. His findings suggest that performance ceilings on laptop GPUs often have more to do with thermal and power restrictions than with what the silicon is actually capable of. With the technical skill and enough cooling, mobile GPUs will get to desktop-level performance.
But it’s not for everyone
As tempting as the results might sound, mods like this come with real risks. You’ll void your warranty, stress the hardware, and need the kind of hands-on experience that most users don’t have. There’s also the chance that the laptop won’t handle the long-term strain of higher power draw, even with decent cooling.
Still, the test makes a strong case that laptop GPUs are often held back. The design choices do more of the holding back than the hardware limits. Nvidia might rate the RTX 5090 mobile GPU for 175 watts, but as this experiment shows, it can go well beyond that—if you’re willing to put in the work and take on the risk.
