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While many are expecting gaming laptops to cut back on their DRAM in 2026, Nvidia has snuck a VRAM upgrade for us in its latest patch notes. A new 12GB RTX 5070 variant will begin shipping alongside regular 8GB RTX 5070 gaming laptops this year.
The boosted GPU was first leaked last month, when Lenovo published listings with the 12GB version specced out. While lighter games aren't going to appreciate the extra headroom too much, the best gaming laptops running the 12GB card will feel the benefits across more demanding titles. This is where the current 8GB card falls short in QHD resolution, generally averaging between 45 and 50fps in Cyberpunk 2077 RT Ultra among the machines I've tested.
Article continues below| Row 0 - Cell 0 | RTX 5070 (12GB) | RTX 5070 (8GB) | RTX 5070 Ti |
Memory size | 12GB | 8GB | 12GB |
Memory bus | 128-bit* | 128-bit | 192-bit |
Bandwidth | 384GB/s* | 384GB/s | 672 GB/s |
Boost clock | 1425 - 2347 MHz* | 1425 - 2347 MHz | 1447 - 2220 MHz |
Boost clock | 1,425MHz* | 1,425MHz | 1,750MHz |
*Unconfirmed
So far, we only know that the new 12GB RTX 5070 card will increase capacity - there have been no announcements around bandwidth or clock rates. It's likely we're just getting a brute force upgrade here, rather than a faster memory transfer system overall. But hey, we're getting a RAM upgrade in a time of supply chain crisis - just how much the boost will add to the final price tags of new RTX 5070 gaming laptops remains to be seen, however.
When can we expect to see these cards out in the wild? Nvidia's initial rollout is expected to be pretty limited. We know Lenovo and Asus have rigs in production, both brands were spotted listing the new 12GB variants earlier in the year. That means we'll likely see more cards on the shelves as both manufacturers continue rolling out 2026's releases over the summer.
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For a look across the industry, I'm rounding up the best Asus gaming laptops as well as the best Razer laptops and best Alienware laptops for some premium offerings.
