by theygamesThe best gaming laptop on the market today can come pretty close to matching the power of a modern desktop gaming PC, meaning you don’t have to stop playing while on your travels. In fact, recent innovations have made these mobile machines both slimmer and faster, with minimal compromises to performance.
If you’re looking for the best gaming laptop with top-of-the-line specs, 13th Gen Intel Core and AMD Ryzen 7000 stacked systems are just around the corner, following their gaming PC counterparts. We expect one of these chips will be the best gaming CPU, promising increased performance and efficiency compared to previous generations.
Of course, these aren’t the only components you’ll need, as you’ll want the best graphics card you can find to drive all the pretty pixels on your new laptop’s display – mobile Nvidia RTX 4000 GPUs shouldn’t be too far away. While gaming RAM and storage space are important, most models can be upgraded later down the line, so it’s best to spend more money on a better processor or GPU at first.
Here are your options for the best gaming laptop:
1. Best gaming laptop
The best gaming laptop is the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15.
Expect to pay $3,299.99 USD / £3,299.99 GBP.
If you’re looking for the highest levels of performance money can buy in a laptop, look no further than the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15. Armed with the best Intel chip you can fit inside a gaming laptop, the Scar’s Intel Core i9-12900H processor is a perfect match for its Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card.
The 1440p 15.6-inch IPS display on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 delivers wonderfully sharp images in both SDR and HDR, but it also boasts an ultra-responsive 240Hz refresh rate with response times of 3ms.
Pros:
- Unrivalled gaming performance
- Perfect resolution and refresh rate for this screen size
Cons:
- Expensive
- Not exactly subtle looking
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 specs | |
| CPU | Intel Core i9-12900H |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti |
| Display | 15.6-inch, 1440p, IPS, 240Hz |
| Battery | 90Whrs |
| Memory | 32GB (16GBx2) DDR5-4,800MHz |
| Storage | 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 SSD |
2. Best budget gaming laptop
The best budget gaming laptop is the Dell G15 Ryzen Edition.
Expect to pay $938.99 USD / £869.99 GBP.
The Dell G15 Ryzen Edition is a great fit for anyone looking for a gaming laptop that doesn’t break the bank. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 has enough horsepower to play the best laptop games at 1080p on its 15.6-inch, 120Hz display, and even supports Nvidia DLSS upscaling for an easy means to boost fps.
The AMD Ryzen 5 6600H helps the G15 make the most of its GPU horsepower when running the best PC games. However, if you’re worried the 8GB of RAM it comes with won’t be enough, you can easily upgrade it down the line when your budget allows.
Pros:
- 120Hz display
- Nvidia DLSS support
Cons:
- Single channel memory configuration
- Build quality reflects the price point
| Dell G15 specs | |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 6600H |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 |
| Display | 15.6-inch, 1080p, WVA, 120Hz |
| Battery Life | 86Whrs |
| Memory | 8GB(8GBx1) DDR4-3,200MHz |
| Storage | 256GB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen3 SSD |
3. Best AMD gaming laptop
The best AMD gaming laptop is the Alienware m17 R5.
Expect to pay $1,949.99 USD / £2,248.99 GBP upwards.
The Alienware m17 R5 packs the very best hardware that team red has to offer, packing in the most powerful Ryzen processors and Radeon graphics into its chassis. As an AMD Advantage gaming laptop, it features all the company’s performance boosting smart technologies, including Smart Shift, Smart Access Graphics, and Smart Access Memory.
Its 17.3-inch 4K/120Hz low latency display boasts AMD FreeSync Premium certification for tear-free gaming, and also supports Dolby Vision for a premium experience when consuming HDR content in supported games and streaming services.
Pros
- Powerful Ryzen processor and Radeon graphics
- Features all AMD Smart Technologies
- 17.3-inch 4K/120Hz AMD FreeSync Premium display
Cons
- Power hungry specs greatly impact battery life
- Ray tracing performance isn’t as good as RTX competition
| Alienware m17 R5 specs | |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H or AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX |
| GPU | AMD Radeon RX 6700M 10GB or AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT 12GB |
| Display | 17.3-inch, 4K/120Hz |
| Battery | 97Whrs |
| Memory | Up to 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 4,800MHz |
| Storage | Up to 4TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 SSD |
4. Best gaming laptop under $2,000
The best gaming laptop under $2,000 is the Razer Blade 14.
Expect to pay $1,999.99 USD / £2,199.99 GBP.
Razer is renowned for the quality of its peripherals, and the same premium-level craftsmanship you’ll find on its best gaming keyboards is readily apparent when using the Razer Blade 14. In addition to its high levels of performance, your cash feels well spent when using the gaming laptop thanks to its CNC aluminium chassis.
At 14-inches, the Razer Blade 14 is a dinky little powerhouse featuring a top-of-range AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. This size also makes the 1080p 144Hz IPS display sharper than you’d think, with a dense PPI (pixel per inch).
Pros:
- Top-of-the-range Ryzen 6000 CPU
- Razor sharp 1080p display
Cons:
| Razer Blade 14 specs | |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 |
| Display | 14-inch, 1080p, IPS, 144Hz |
| Battery | 61.6Whrs |
| Memory | 16GB DDR5-4,800MHz |
| Storage | 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 SSD |
5. Best gaming laptop under $1,500
The best gaming laptop under $1,500 is the Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4.
Expect to pay $1,499.99 USD / £1,649.99 GBP.
We’re really impressed by the specs on offer here with the Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4, making it one of the best value gaming laptops on this list. The Intel Core i7-12700H and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 make for a great gaming combo, and easily drives the 15.6-inch 1080p IPS 144Hz display.
It’s also got the biggest battery amongst our picks at 99.9Wh, meaning you’ll be gaming-on-the-go for many hours. It doesn’t skimp on gaming RAM either with dual-channel 16GB DDR4 memory, and it features 512GB of NVMe PCIe Gen4 storage, so you won’t be caught short when installing the latest games.
Pros:
- Higher specs than those typically found at this price
- Biggest battery on the list
Cons:
| Gigabyte Aorus 5 SE4 specs | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-12700H |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 |
| Display | 15.6-inch, 1080p, IPS, 144Hz |
| Battery | 99.9Whrs |
| Memory | 16GB(2x8GB) DDR4-3,200MHz |
| Storage | 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 SSD |