Erazer Beast 16 X1 Ultimate (RTX 5090) Review: The Beast Gets Even Better

The new Erazer Beast 16 X1 Ultimate returns in an even more muscular version, equipped with the RTX 5090 Laptop. Medion has created a gaming laptop that combines simple design, neat Mini LED screen and fixed station performance, all at a much lower price than the market leaders.

Under its gaming brand Erazer, the German manufacturer Medion (subsidiary of the Lenovo group) continues its rise in power with the Beast 16 X1 Ultimate. And in this version equipped with a GeForce RTX 5090, it intends to tackle head-on the top players in the high-end segment such as ASUS, MSI, Alienware and Razer, promising the raw power without compromise at a (still) reasonable price.

Technical sheet of the tested version

Design: assumed sobriety and more mature construction

Erazer PCs have often had this "raw machine" feel to them, with the motto "functional design above all." Beast 16 X1 Ultimate continues in this vein, but with a much more serious finish, particularly in the choice of materials, with much more aluminum and less plastic.
Its all-metal chassis inspires confidence: the surfaces are rigid, the edges clean, but never aggressive. We feel that Medion has reached a true level of maturity in design.

Visually, the machine plays the sobriety card... until the front LED strip lights up. It brings an obvious gaming touch, even if its segmented lighting lacks a little diffusion compared to some more premium competitors.
In terms of format, the machine remains in the upper average of the sector: 3 cm thick, 2,8 kg on the scale, we are far from Razer Blade 16, the very high-end laptop tested right here 2 years ago, which remained transportable when traveling in a backpack, without having a good osteopath on hand. The Beast 16 X1 Ultimate can be moved, but don't expect to take it everywhere with you: in a backpack, it is far too present.

Keyboard and touchpad: functional but lackluster

The keyboard adopts a layout classic chicletThe key travel is correct, typing is smooth and requires no effort. Fans of large mechanical keyboards will probably regret the lack of firmness.

Le touchpad is fluid and precise, slightly shifted to the left, to make room for the large directional arrows. It's not huge, and in any case, in gaming use, it will be little used. This is the kind of accessory that Erazer seems to be saving money on. It is of course compatible with Windows 11's multi-touch gestures.

Connectivity: a real combat station

This is one of the machine's strong points! Erazer doesn't cut corners on connectivity:

• To the left : 2.5G Ethernet, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 3,5mm combo jack
• To the right : drive Full frame SD (photographers thank you), two ports USB-A 3.2 Gen 2
• In back : HDMI 2.1, mini DisplayPort 2.1a, Thunderbolt 4, and the famous external watercooling port (sold separately, too bad, I couldn't test it)

In short, nothing is missing. Multi-screen gamers, streamers, and creators will find everything they need without resorting to a dock.

webcam and audio

The 1080p compatible webcam Windows Hello delivers a picture that's just okay for video conferencing, and... it doesn't go any further. Highlights are quickly blown out and shadows a bit clogged, with noise quickly becoming present. Nothing unusual for a gaming laptop.

On the audio side, Erazer still provides the bare minimum. The sound lacks presence and space, but remains balanced in the bass and treble. The speakers are placed under the chassis, a less than ideal position. In any case, the ventilation can play spoilsport during gaming sessions, as with most gaming laptops.

Screen: a precise Mini LED

The 16-inch Mini LED panel (2560×1600, 300 Hz, anti-glare) offers excellent readability and exemplary fluidity. The "wow" effect is there at first launch as soon as the cursor moves. It is announced by the manufacturer as covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, which I was unable to verify. Not being a fan of HDR rendering, I preferred to do my tests in SDR, where the screen delivers a natural rendering that is suitable for both gaming and creation.

Software: still the Achilles heel

This is probably the only point where Erazer falls behind the competition. The in-house management software, Control Center, which controls ventilation, performance profiles and lighting, is seriously lacking in ergonomics and possibilities. Add to that the presence of a McAfee pre-installed (which you'll have to uninstall without regret), and you'll understand why we would have liked a more coherent ecosystem. Nothing dramatic, but when you see what MSI Center or Armoury Crate offer, Erazer still has a long way to go.

Performance: RTX 5090 released

Under the hood, we find a high-end duo: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX et NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU at 175 W (150 + 25) TGP. The CPU, equipped with 24 cores (8 P + 16 E), is a monster of efficiency, capable of running up to 5,4 GHz. It is supported by 32 GB of DDR5-5600 and 2TB PCIe Gen 5 SSD, also at the top of the basket.

In synthetic benchmarks, the scores explode:

• Cinebench 2024 : next to 1950 point in multi-core and 122 in single !
• 3DMark Time Spy exceeds the 21.500 point, a clear improvement over the mobile RTX 5080 and equivalent to a 5070 Desktop.
• The Phison SSD in PCIe Gen 5 tickles the 10 GB / s in sequential reading.

Stake

In native resolution (1600p), the RTX 5090 impresses with 148 fps on Blackmyth Wukong with the "Cinematic" settings and 182 fps on Cyberpunk 2077 in Max + Pathtracing settings. We thank the incredibly efficient image generation of NVIDIA GPUs, which have the luxury of controlling their consumption thanks to this technology.

In practice, we obtain the performance of a desktop RTX 5070 in a portable format. DLSS 4 and Frame Generation work wonders, and the 5090 stands out as the most powerful mobile card of the moment.

Creation and rendering

In productivity (Blender, 3DSMAX, Premiere Pro, etc.), the machine pulverizes the scores of the previous generation. The RTX 5090 reduces rendering times even further, and the Intel CPU places it in the same league as a very high-end desktop workstation.

The wind tunnel (or not…)

Obviously, with such an excess of power, it must be dissipated.
The Beast 16 X1 Ultimate does the job, but not quietly: the fans are audible, but I expected much worse. The thickness of the PC allows for good airflow and the breath, although present, remains bearable. However, we prefer to wear headphones to play. The temperature is controlled: around 90°C max for the GPU and 82 for the CPU. A good performance that we also owe to the metal casing, which dissipates a good part of the heat, and consequently, which heats up.

The Control Center software allows you to work in office mode in silent mode, but you can feel the heat just waiting to escape.

Note that Erazer offers liquid cooling as an option (the input/output ports are located on the back of the machine). Tests carried out by our colleagues on the previous generation (notably RTX 4090) showed the benefit during long gaming sessions where the GPU could express its full potential while maintaining high operating frequencies, and all this in silence.

Autonomy

The battery of 99 Wh, the legal limit for air travel, doesn't work miracles. When browsing the web or working on office applications, I was able to juggle between tabs for a good 2 hours. Count 3 if you watch a series in low light and without touching the keyboard too much... But not really more.

The charger can deliver 420W, but even with a demanding game, I didn't exceed 300W at the socket. Correct for this level of performance, but nothing more if I compare with the desktop PC and its Intel Core Ultra 7 and its Geforce 5070 Ti which achieve roughly the same score with better performance.

Price and competition

Proposed to €4.200, this RTX 5090 version places Erazer against the ROG Strix Scar 18, Alienware X16, or Razer blade 16…but at a lower price (on average €1.500 with equivalent configuration).
An aggressive positioning, faithful to the manufacturer's philosophy: offering the same power, for less money.

Verdict: the move upmarket confirmed

With this version equipped with the RTX 5090, the Erazer Beast 16 X1 Ultimate confirms the brand's metamorphosis. The design is refined, the finish improves, and performance explodes.
Power, connectivity, cooling and value for money : these are the four pillars that make this Beast 16 a real alternative to the giants of the sector.
A PC that lives up to its name, and which, in this RTX 5090 version, clearly deserves its suffix Ultimate.