Updated
Updated · Phoronix · Jul 15
Razer Blade 18 Benchmarks Ubuntu 26.04, Windows 11 and CachyOS on $5,399 Laptop
Updated
Updated · Phoronix · Jul 15

Razer Blade 18 Benchmarks Ubuntu 26.04, Windows 11 and CachyOS on $5,399 Laptop

2 articles · Updated · Phoronix · Jul 15

Summary

  • $5,399 Razer Blade 18 testing now compares Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, Windows 11 and CachyOS on the same Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and GeForce RTX 5090 hardware.
  • The benchmark expands an earlier Ubuntu-only review of Razer's first laptop in Canonical's Linux hardware certification program, answering how Linux stacks up against the factory Windows 11 setup.
  • Windows 11 was tested out of the box, while Ubuntu used a stock Linux 7.0 environment and CachyOS added a more aggressive rolling-release configuration aimed at maximum performance.
  • CachyOS also brought newer components into the comparison, including Linux 7.1, GCC 16.1.1 and Nvidia's R610 driver, versus the R595 driver used on Windows 11 and Ubuntu.
  • A separate follow-up will compare Nvidia's official driver with Nouveau on the RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, extending the Linux performance picture for this system.

Insights

Why does Razer's 'Linux-Certified' laptop require community patches to unlock its full performance?
With new drivers crippling top GPUs, is 'bleeding-edge' Linux becoming a beta test for its users?
As AI floods Linux with code, is the project heading for a maintainer burnout crisis?