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Maingear's new Ultima 18 laptop pairs a 4K screen with top-end RTX graphics in a Clevo-designed chassis
Maingear, a New Jersey-based company known primarily for its boutique gaming desktops, is today launching a new 18-inch gaming laptop that's packed to the gills with performance components.
The Ultima 18, which starts at $3,599 on Maingear's website, utilizes an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor. There are two graphics options: Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5080 or 5090 Laptop GPU. Maingear says that the laptop was built with Clevo, which sells barebones systems to resellers that pick components. The Ultimate looks to be based on Clevo's X58xWNx-G based on specs and appearance.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
CPU
Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
GPU
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU
RAM
Up to 192GB DDR5 (4 x 48GB)
Storage
Up to 4x M.2 SSDs (1x Gen 5x4, 3x Gen 4x4)
Display
18-inch, 3840 x 2400, 200 Hz, G-Sync
Battery
98 WHr
Wireless
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Weight
8.8 pounds (3.99 kg)
Starting Price
$3,599
The display is just over 4K at 3840 x 2400, due to the 16:10 aspect ratio. This type of high-resolution screen is increasingly a rarity, even on the most powerful gaming laptops. The only other system we've seen this resolution on is the 18-inch panel on the MSI Titan 18 HX AI, one of the best gaming laptops.
While the Titan has a 120 Hz Mini-LED panel, Maingear has opted for a faster 200 Hz display without the fancier technology.
Maingear's system also supports up to 192GB of RAM and has room for four M.2 SSDs. One of those SSD slots supports PCIe Gen 5x4, while the others all rely on Gen 4x4. The $3,599 starting configuration includes an RTX 5080, 32GB of Team Elite DDR5-4800 RAM, a 2TB T-Force A440 SSD, and Windows 11 Pro.
The system features a metal lid and palm rest. Ports are divided between the back and the sides for the system. The rear features an HDMI port, dual 2.5 Gb Ethernet ports, a lock slot, and the power jack. The sides feature a pair of Thunderbolt 5 ports, two USB Type-A ports, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a microSD card slot.
18-inch systems are usually considered desktop replacements for a reason: their size. And this one is heavy, at 8.8 pounds, though Maingear says that the 330 watt power adapter is "backpack friendly" (and, to be fair, the point of getting a laptop — even one that's 8.8 pounds — is the option to move it from place to place).
The company states that there's no "OS-choking bloatware," which is a definite plus; Maingear's Control Center application lets you adjust RGB, fan settings, performance modes, and more. The other big software feature is Nvidia Advanced Optimus, which switches between the integrated and discrete GPU depending on power needs.
Maingear is entering a crowded market of expensive, top-of-the-line gaming laptops that includes the likes of Alienware, Gigabyte, Razer, MSI, Asus, and more, putting the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 in premium designs with plenty of ports, fast screens, and high price tags.
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Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and BlueSky @andrewfreedman.net.You can send him tips on Signal: andrewfreedman.01
"4K" on a Windows laptop is mostly for bragging rights. It is not practical, unfortunately.
My similarly sized Windows-laptop at work has a "4K" screen which I have to keep at 200% pixel zoom — because high-resolution support on Windows is broken.
Parts of Windows itself and many third-party apps that I use either don't have high-resolution support, being very small, or exhibit bugs.
I often have to switch between using the laptop standalone and together with a pair of external screens at 110 PPI, and that's already a chore. With the laptop screen set at twice the resolution, moving windows between them is borderline unusable.
That's the first time I've seen a 16:10 4K screen.
At that size and resolution, it's at 251.6 PPI, which puts it between a 12" and 13" Surface Pro.
Regarding eye strain, Temporal Light Modulation (aka backlight PWM flicker) is the primary cause.
AKA, garbage screens with poor brightness. A secondary cause is pixel density. Denser pixels = less backlight shining through = lower brightness.
I had a Clevo a few years back. One of the worse computers I have ever had in my life. The south bridge chip kept failing and I had sent the board in for RMA two times. The third time the laptop died, it went into the firepit.
