Enthusiasts just took the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU to new extremes-and the payoff is impressive. YouTuber GizmoSlipTech has pulled off a bold shunt mod, pushing the GPU’s power draw from 175W to a hefty 250W. 
The result? A jaw-dropping performance boost of up to 41% in some games and an average of around 20% across the board.
For the uninitiated, a shunt mod is a hardware tweak that involves adding a low-resistance parallel resistor to the existing shunt resistor on a GPU. This effectively tricks the GPU into thinking it’s drawing less power, unlocking higher power delivery and bypassing manufacturer-imposed limits. While risky, it’s a well-known move among hardware modders looking to squeeze out every last frame.
GizmoSlipTech performed the mod on the Eluktronics Hydroc 16 G2, a high-end laptop featuring Intel’s Arrow Lake-HX CPU and a custom Prema Mod BIOS. After increasing the GPU’s power ceiling, the performance results spoke for themselves:
- Steel Nomad: +41.16%
- Witcher 3 (Ultra RT + DLSS-Q + 2x FG): +29.73%
- Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra RT + DLSS-Q + 2x FG): +23.89%
- Black Myth: Wukong (RT Ultra + 2x FG): +23.33%
- Rainbow Six Siege (Low Settings, Native): +20.42%
- Hogwarts Legacy (Ultra RT + DLSS-Q + 2x FG): +14.21%
- Tomb Raider (Highest RT + DLSS-Q): +3.86%
The common thread? Modern AAA games consistently saw around a 20% uplift, proving the RTX 5090 has plenty of hidden power under the hood-if you dare to unlock it.
Of course, this performance comes at a cost. Higher power means more heat, reduced battery life, and potential longevity issues. Some argue NVIDIA was right to cap power at 175W, citing diminishing returns and mobile form factor limitations. But others see this as evidence that current gaming laptops are being held back unnecessarily.
Whether or not the shunt mod becomes mainstream is unlikely-but it clearly shows the RTX 5090 laptop GPU has untapped potential waiting to be unleashed, for those brave enough to break the rules.