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Some PC enthusiasts swear by their hulky desktops, but in reality, a gaming laptop can be a more practical choice. Now, how do you make sense of all the screen sizes (14 to 18 inches!) and component options (Core, Ryzen, Radeon, GeForce!) you face when shopping? Our experts can help. Gaming laptops are all about tested CPU and graphics performance, and our analysts are aces at benchmarking and evaluating these laptops to find the best values. They also assess design, usability, connectivity, and display quality in every model. Our favorites are organized into budget (under about $1,200), midrange (between $1,200 and $2,000), and high-end ($2,000 and up) categories. Our top basic gaming laptop for most shoppers is the MSI Katana 15 HX, but we've compiled a list of additional tested options, along with shopping advice and critical specs for pinpointing the best gaming laptop for you.
Our Top Tested Picks
MSI Katana 15 HX
Bottom Line
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
Powered by Nvidia’s entry-level GeForce RTX 5050, MSI's Katana 15 HX delivers smooth 60fps gaming with or without DLSS 4. Despite a few compromises, it's a winning recipe for budget gamers.
Pros
- Capable everyday productivity performance
- RTX 5050 stands up to demanding games with DLSS 4
- Comfortable keyboard with RGB lighting
- Varied connectivity
Cons
- Just 512GB storage is tight for modern gaming
- Dim display
- Chunky for a 15-inch laptop
Gigabyte Gaming A18
Bottom Line
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
Gigabyte's Gaming A18 is an effective "budget" giant-screen gaming laptop, delivering respectable frame rates for the money to a quality 18-inch screen. Only its GPU's reduced power draw holds it back from true greatness.
Pros
- Respectable gaming performance for the money
- Cheap for an 18-inch gaming laptop
- Huge, colorful 165Hz IPS LCD
- Lengthy battery life in its class
Cons
- Down-tuned GPU limits max frame rates and detail settings
- Creative- and productivity-app performance lags other gaming laptops
Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 (G635LW)
Bottom Line
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
Premium and powerful, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is a top-tier gaming laptop that delivers blazing performance and an excellent display. Its high price is justified by a robust cooling system and longer battery life than many competing laptops.
Pros
- Blazing performance and gameplay
- Sharp, fast Mini LED 240Hz display
- Longer battery life than expected
- Effective cooling
- Tool-free RAM, SSD upgrades
Cons
- Competitively priced, but still expensive
- Loud fans when cooling
- Number pad overlay on the touchpad can be triggered by accident
MSI Raider 18 HX AI
Bottom Line
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
MSI’s Raider 18 HX AI is a dominant high-end gaming laptop, propelled by a tip-top Core Ultra 9 HX CPU, a fierce GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, and a robust (if noisy) cooling system.
Pros
- Exceptional performance
- Dazzling mini-LED screen
- Potent audio
- Decent battery life
Cons
- Mostly plastic chassis
- Loud fans
- So-so keyboard
Acer Nitro V 16 AI
Bottom Line
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
Acer's low-cost Nitro V 16 AI is a compelling value, pairing solid entry-grade components with a fast, big 1200p display. Plus, it delivers long battery life for a gaming laptop.
Pros
- Aggressive price for the components
- Plays AAA games at high settings
- Bright 180Hz screen
- Comfortable keyboard
- Long battery life
Cons
- Screen color coverage is mediocre
- 512GB SSD fills up fast
- Touchpad surface could be smoother
Razer Blade 14 (2025)
Bottom Line
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
It's spendy, but the 2025 Razer Blade 14 is a prime portable gaming laptop with an unmatched build, long battery life, frame-rate muscle, and a 3K OLED display that dazzles.
Pros
- Unparalleled build quality at its size
- Powerful enough for modern 60fps-plus gaming
- Sharp 120Hz 3K OLED screen
- Long battery life
- User-upgradable SSD
Cons
- High cost of entry
- Larger laptops at this price offer superior GPUs
Alienware 16X Aurora
Bottom Line
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
The Alienware 16X Aurora hits its marks as a steady and well-made midrange gaming laptop, even if its graphics ceiling has limitations.
Pros
- Slim and sturdy design with aluminum lid
- Fast Intel processor and capable RTX 5060 GPU
- Bright and sharp 240Hz 1600p display
- Wide port selection
Cons
- A touch expensive for an RTX 5060
- No OLED option
- Single-zone RGB keyboard
Razer Blade 18 (Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX)
Bottom Line
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
The Razer Blade 18 is a slim powerhouse gaming laptop that justifies its steep price with fiery performance and leading battery life in the sleekest 18-inch chassis. Even if the laptop’s unique dual-mode display is super-niche, it’s an impressive feature for eclectic gamers.
Pros
- Remarkable power-to-profile ratio
- Slim and (relatively) portable design
- Unique dual-mode 4K/FHD display
- Superb battery life for its size
Cons
- Extremely priced top configurations
- Low thermal headroom limits peak performance
- 440Hz display mode is super-niche
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EDITORS' NOTE
Sept. 25, 2026: With this update, we dropped the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 (Best OLED Gaming Laptop) due to the lack of current availability of versions with our test configuration's CPU, and the introduction of newer Gen 11 models. We also significantly expanded our buying and user-suitability advice for our remaining picks. The rest of our recommendations remain unchanged and have been vetted for currency and availability. Since our last update, we reviewed and evaluated 10 new laptops for potential inclusion in this story and our other laptop guides. We currently have eight laptops in PC Labs for evaluation, from makers including Asus, Alienware, Dell, HP, MSI, and Razer.
- Capable everyday productivity performance
- RTX 5050 stands up to demanding games with DLSS 4
- Comfortable keyboard with RGB lighting
- Varied connectivity
- Just 512GB storage is tight for modern gaming
- Dim display
- Chunky for a 15-inch laptop
Gaming laptops are associated with big price tags, but you don't have to break the bank—if you're willing to play on a budget rig featuring a few compromises. On that note, the MSI Katana 15 HX is an excellent system that makes the least significant trade-offs we've seen to reach its sweet price. (On-again, off-again, our specific test model has been $999 at Walmart.) The PC houses a peppy low-end Nvidia RTX 50-series GPU and handles 1080p gaming with aplomb. For those reasons and more, the MSI Katana 15 HX is our top pick for budget gaming laptops.
Design: This is one area where low-cost gaming laptops make sacrifices, and the MSI Katana 15 HX does, too, with its all-plastic laptop frame. However, it lacks excessive flex, sports a surprisingly comfortable keyboard, and is relatively portable for its class. (It weighs 5.29 pounds.) In short, it's a generally well-built device for budget-minded PC gamers.
Display: The other area where budget gaming laptops typically take a hit to keep costs down? Screens. The MSI Katana 15 HX is a prime example, with its 15.6-inch 1080p IPS panel and middling color coverage. That said, its 144Hz refresh rate lets this laptop rise well above the expected "1080p/60" minimum spec. It's a workable gaming screen, just not an outstanding one.
Performance: The MSI Katana 15 HX proved impressive in our many benchmarks. Its Nvidia RTX 5050 graphics chip and DLSS 4 frame generation tech delivered strong frame rates in highly demanding PC titles. If you're on a relatively tight budget, you'll be happy to see what the system can do with the latest AAA releases.
Battery life: The MSI Katana 15 HX lasted a decent 8 hours in our video-playback battery rundown test, but don't expect that number during lengthy gaming sessions. In fact, you should expect the number to drop by more than half while blasting enemy forces. Keep the charging cable close.
Value for money: Simply put, the MSI Katana 15 HX is one best values in laptops, gaming or otherwise. Think about it: It's a machine with an RTX 50-series GPU for less than a grand in an age of bloated prices due to tariffs and RAM shortages. Plus, it has a decent build and a potent enough CPU to limit bottlenecking.
College students: The new Katana has the chops to handle most general collegiate work, while letting you game with the crew between quizzes, homework, and term papers.
Casual or first-time PC gamers: The MSI Katana 15 HX is a good introductory gaming laptop for kids and PC-gaming dabblers who want to move up from computers with limited integrated graphics. It delivers a top-notch 1080p gaming experience without requiring too steep an investment.
Die-hard, frame-rate-obsessed PC gamers: Looking for a gaming laptop that can handle 1440p or 4K play? The MSI Katana 15 HX isn't for you. If you have the funds to spend on something more potent, go for a rig with a higher-end GPU that can really push the polygons.
- Respectable gaming performance for the money
- Cheap for an 18-inch gaming laptop
- Huge, colorful 165Hz IPS LCD
- Lengthy battery life in its class
- Down-tuned GPU limits max frame rates and detail settings
- Creative- and productivity-app performance lags other gaming laptops
Although not in the budget range, Gigabyte's big-screen laptop still lands well short of premium systems in price. It’s less expensive than most 18-inch gaming laptops we see, which usually occupy the high-end market and include top-end components. This is an attractive mix of price, power, and features. If you're seeking a more desktop-monitor-like experience, the Gigabyte Gaming A18 is an excellent choice.
Design: With a rather basic shell that reveals its affordable sensibilities, the A18 measures a relatively slim 0.98 inch thick and weighs 6.17 pounds. It's more luggable than truly portable, and you can't ignore how large this laptop is. Keep it on a desk as much as possible.
Display: Gigabyte's 18-inch panel of choice is an IPS LCD with a 1600p native resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. The screen is vibrant, covering 100% of the sRGB and 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamuts, while reaching up to 326 nits at max brightness.
Performance: This laptop's Ryzen 7 processor, 32GB of RAM, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 GPU (in our test model) make for a steady midrange system, even if its GPU, at its configured power limit, doesn't deliver as much power as some other RTX 5070 laptops. Gigabyte also sells an RTX 5060 configuration.
Battery life: Gigabyte’s 18-incher makes full use of its size, with a larger battery than most mid-sized laptops, helping it last 9 hours and 49 minutes in our video-playback battery-rundown test. That's rather impressive for such a large gaming notebook.
Value for money: As one of the most affordable 18-inch gaming laptops around, the A18 is a fine value, even as gaming-laptop prices as a whole are slowly rising as the memory shortage rages on.
Gamers who want a large screen: If you're envious of people who own one of those big-screen powerhouse gaming behemoths, the Gigabyte Gaming A18 is here to save you. It's one of the few truly huge gaming laptops you'll find for less than $2,000.
Creatives looking to replace their desktop: This 18-incher from Gigabyte is a fine fit if you're not necessarily a big-time gamer (think a content creator or an amateur photographer) but still want as big a screen as possible for as little money as possible when it's time to play.
Extreme frame-rate watchers: As a relatively affordable gaming laptop, the Gaming A18 is a fast enough performer for most users, but it's not a field-leading barn-burner. If you want top-level speeds at 1600p resolution, go for an 18-incher with more potent components.
- Blazing performance and gameplay
- Sharp, fast Mini LED 240Hz display
- Longer battery life than expected
- Effective cooling
- Tool-free RAM, SSD upgrades
- Competitively priced, but still expensive
- Loud fans when cooling
- Number pad overlay on the touchpad can be triggered by accident
Our high-end pick is free from the budget restraints of other categories, and in this fiercely competitive tier, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 stands out from the pack. The gaming laptop remains a decent value despite its price, and its performance, design, and feature set make it a winner for enthusiasts. With a brilliant display, long battery life, and tool-free RAM and storage upgradability, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is the best high-end gaming laptop we’ve tested in the past year.
Design: Asus outfitted this powerhouse 16-inch laptop with the profile to back it up, measuring a substantial 1.21 inches thick and weighing 6.28 pounds. It's also oozing with style, featuring a customizable RGB AniMe Vision display on the screen lid and more lighting throughout.
Display: The Scar comes with a serious 16-inch screen, featuring a speedy 240Hz refresh rate and impressive color using mini LED backlight technology. The result is 100% coverage of both the sRGB and DCI-P3 gamuts, complemented by a blazing 578-nit peak brightness.
Performance: The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 in our Strix Scar test model made light work of our benchmark tests, and it's up to the task for any real-world title. Our configuration's 32GB of DDR5 memory certainly helps with multitasking, and a 2TB SSD leaves plenty of space for game installs.
Battery life: This gaming laptop lasts a decent amount of time for its class, holding out for 8 hours and 23 minutes in our video-playback battery rundown test. That’s not the longest we’ve tested, but it’s also far from the shortest.
Value for money: The Strix Scar 16 is one of those laptops that marries top-end performance with luxury design, and so that wedding costs a bundle. People have come to expect to pay more for that level of attention to detail and engineering, which is worth it if you can afford it.
Hard-core gamers with deep pockets: This ROG Strix laptop is a good fit if you're willing to spend $3,000 or more. The system's expensive, but it maximizes that value with top-end parts and materials. Any modern game will run smoothly on this machine, and it has a boatload of memory, storage, and processing power.
Creatives and power users: If you're a creative professional who drills away at demanding workloads, you should look to this laptop for those tasks. This laptop has as much muscle for crunching through media editing and data as it does for handling the latest games.
Serious gamers unimpressed by bling: Part of the Strix Scar's appeal is how looks on a desk. Yes, it can deliver the frame rates you're looking for, but you can find similar performance for a bit less from systems with less flair.
- Exceptional performance
- Dazzling mini-LED screen
- Potent audio
- Decent battery life
- Mostly plastic chassis
- Loud fans
- So-so keyboard
If you want to game big and have the money to match, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI has the power and premium components to be your dream machine. In fact, the 18-incher earned our Editors' Choice award for big-screen gaming laptops because it offers best-in-class performance this hardware generation. Here's what you can expect from this beast: an incredible 4K mini-LED display, Thunderbolt 5 support, Wi-Fi 7 radio, PCI Express 5.0 storage, and a top-end CPU and GPU combo.
Design: You're not going to tote the MSI Raider 18 HX AI around town very often; it has a massive 18-inch screen and weighs a hefty 7.94 pounds. This desktop replacement supports several advanced ports, including Thunderbolt 5, and provides substantial cooling to prevent its high-powered components from overheating during lengthy play sessions.
Display: MSI's 18-inch mini-LED screen wows with a crisp 3,840-by-2,400-pixel native resolution and a speedy 120Hz refresh rate. Plus, it supports Nvidia G-Sync, so the screen redraws and GPU frame rate are aligned to prevent tearing, up to 120 frames per second.
Performance: This is a monster of a machine that can handle nearly any task you throw at it, short of super-specific workstation applications. In action, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI more than doubled the baseline in the PCMark 10 general productivity test, set the record on our HandBrake video encoding benchmark, and posted extremely competitive results in our gaming frame rate tests.
Battery life: Despite its size and power profile, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI lasted a few hours longer than some competing 18-inchers (and even a few 16-inch laptops) in our video-playback battery-rundown test. Still, you should keep it plugged in as much as possible.
Value for money: A gaming laptop at this price requires a different approach to evaluating its value than most other systems. Instead of comparing the MSI Raider 18 HX AI to other laptops, we'd put it up against a comparable gaming desktop. Factoring in the excellent display and components, you're not paying too much more than it would cost to build a similar desktop tower. Still, the Raider 18 is an expensive machine for deep-pocketed PC gaming die-hards.
Power-hungry gamers: Do you want peak performance from your semi-mobile gaming system? If so, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI is the laptop for you. It blazed through our benchmarks by pairing potent components with an incredible cooling system to deliver maximum output.
Space-starved PC players: Most PC gamers would suggest taking the money you'd spend on the MSI Raider 18 HX AI to buy a gaming desktop. We get that. However, this desktop replacement is for people who lack space for a big rig or need the option to haul their system to an esports tournament.
Highly mobile PC gamers: The MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a large gaming laptop that isn't suitable for frequent traveling. Instead, you should consider something smaller and lighter (for example, in the 14-to-15.6-inch range) if you're looking for a system to take on trips or fit in a cramped space.
- Aggressive price for the components
- Plays AAA games at high settings
- Bright 180Hz screen
- Comfortable keyboard
- Long battery life
- Screen color coverage is mediocre
- 512GB SSD fills up fast
- Touchpad surface could be smoother
The Acer Nitro V 16 AI is a budget gaming laptop that simply works well at a great price. It can run AAA games at more than 60fps, often at high settings, for less than $900 on sale. Plus, with a comfortable keyboard and a fast display, the Nitro is ready for competitive gaming. Sure, there are some trade-offs for the price (a poor display color range, a ho-hum touchpad, and relatively skimpy storage), but they're offset by effective gaming performance and decent battery life.
Design: The Acer Nitro V 16 AI relies on budget-focused plastic construction to keep the price down, at the expense of the ultra-slim dimensions and lighter weights of some higher-end rigs. However, clever keyboard spacing boosts your gaming precision despite a truncated right Shift key.
Display: Built around a 16-inch 1200p (1,920-by-1,200-pixel) panel with narrow side bezels, the display prioritizes fast motion, with bright output and high (180Hz) peak refresh rate. That's great for smooth gaming, but the display sacrifices color accuracy and palette breadth to keep the price low.
Performance: Powered by an entry-level AMD Ryzen 5 240 CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 GPU, the Acer Nitro V 16 AI delivers stable real-world gaming frame rates at high graphics settings and 1200p, keeping pace with or outperforming rival budget rigs.
Battery life: We recorded 12 hours of continuous video playback in our battery rundown testing. That easily outlasts competing budget gaming rigs, though expect much shorter running times when gaming; our test is a best-case scenario.
Value for money: Priced between $750 and $899 at launch, this laptop earns top honors in the big-screen budget category. It combines a high-refresh 16-inch display, solid GPU performance, and long battery life to claim the Best Budget Big-Screen Gaming Laptop crown, despite trade-offs in touchpad quality and color coverage.
Budget gamers who want to compete: This is the best gaming laptop right now for the fastest refresh rate at the lowest possible price. If you can't muster more than $900 for a roomy 16-inch screen that refreshes at more than 165Hz, grab this Nitro system now.
First-time PC gamers: The Acer Nitro V 16 AI is a fine choice if you're just getting into PC gaming or as a child's first gaming laptop. The Nitro’s bargain-basement price lets you lay down minimal cash while providing a steady, reliable basic PC gaming experience.
Content creators: Even with dedicated graphics and long battery life, we don't recommend this one for video work. The display's color-accuracy limitations aren't ideal for visual work, and the 512GB SSD is too small to handle massive video files or large media libraries.
- Unparalleled build quality at its size
- Powerful enough for modern 60fps-plus gaming
- Sharp 120Hz 3K OLED screen
- Long battery life
- User-upgradable SSD
- High cost of entry
- Larger laptops at this price offer superior GPUs
Is portability a main priority when considering a gaming laptop? If so, the 3.6-pound Razer Blade 14 (2025) is hard to beat. Featuring a relatively lightweight and compact build, the Blade 14 is a mobile, long-lasting, and powerful PC that can play all your favorite new releases. Of course, the $2,299.99 starting price is a big factor, but you'll enjoy a top-tier gaming laptop if you can swing it.
Design: The 2025 Razer Blade 14 combines a rigid, premium all-metal chassis with a compact 14-inch design, trimming bulk and weight (it's 3.6 pounds) without sacrificing durability or aesthetics. Sleek, light, and built to last—say goodbye to bulky gaming rigs.
Display: Built to push high-end gaming to the limit, this 14-inch laptop has a 3K 120Hz OLED display that pairs vibrant colors, deep contrast, and fast response times in a slim-bezel design optimized for elite gaming.
Performance: Driven by AMD Ryzen AI 9 and RTX 50 Series GPUs, this rig delivers smooth 60fps-plus gaming and rapid media editing, successfully balancing portability with high-end performance.
Battery life: An efficient runner, the Razer Blade 14 endured for more than 10 hours in our video-playback rundown test, significantly outlasting rival 14-inch gaming laptops. (Expect shorter running times when gaming off the plug, of course.)
Value for money: A $2,299.99 price is a steep one, but the payoff is real. This laptop's OLED display, upgradable SSD, battery life, and build quality justify its title here: Best Portable Gaming Laptop.
Gamers on the go: This is definitely the laptop to buy if you travel a lot and want to frag along the way. The Blade 14 is no value play, but it is a device you'll love if you frequently take your laptop with you. So, if you need a primary gaming PC that's also a great travel companion, the Blade 14 is your best bet.
Frequent-traveling content creators: The Blade 14 tops the options if you're an editor or other media maker on the go. Razer has long courted this crowd, and this edition seals the deal. The Blade 14 is fast, and even if you don't play a lot of games, it's a premium travel companion.
Maximum-performance seekers: Portability is great, but the Razer Blade's compact 14-inch chassis imposes thermal and physical limits, trading top-tier performance for portability. Larger 16-inch and 18-inch laptops at the same price point unlock higher raw graphics performance.
- Slim and sturdy design with aluminum lid
- Fast Intel processor and capable RTX 5060 GPU
- Bright and sharp 240Hz 1600p display
- Wide port selection
- A touch expensive for an RTX 5060
- No OLED option
- Single-zone RGB keyboard
This redesigned Alienware laptop is the latest effort from the king of gaming in style. Its build quality, aesthetics, feature set, and performance all add up to a compelling mainstream machine. The Aurora's standout design feature is its anodized metal frame with a bluish, iridescent finish. Softer edges and quality materials set it apart as a toned-down version of Alienware's audacious Area-51, altogether earning it this spot on our list.
Design: Dell's Alienware design team nailed a hyper-futuristic look with the Aurora, but more importantly, reached 0.92 inch in thickness. Yes, it's still a dense machine at 5.66 pounds, but slim enough to fit into many bags and backpacks.
Display: The laptop comes with a bright, sharp 1600p screen with a zippy 240Hz refresh rate. While not an OLED panel, the screen is a vibrant IPS LCD showing 100% of the sRGB color space and 98% of the DCI-P3 gamut, with up to 579 nits of maximum brightness.
Performance: Our test model featured an Intel Core i7-255HX CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 GPU, both midrange gaming essentials. This combination is enough to power games at the screen's 1600p resolution, especially with AI rendering via DLSS.
Battery life: You don't come to gaming laptops for battery life, but they've improved in this category over the years. Either way, the Aurora wasn't particularly focused on this, and so it lasted 5 hours and 38 minutes in our battery rundown test using local video playback.
Value for money: As a high-style laptop brand, you can expect luxury prices for Alienware systems. However, Dell often runs deals on its web store, so look out for considerable savings, especially around shopping events and holidays.
Gamers looking to make a statement: This laptop is a prime cut if you like showing off your gaming gear. The Aurora comes in an attention-grabbing yet sleek all-metal design with the gaming performance to back up its flashy appearance. It won't be mistaken for anything but an Alienware.
Gamers replacing a desktop: If you're looking to switch from a desktop to a laptop, the 16X Aurora is a smart option. The 16-inch 1600p display is a 240Hz panel that delivers a monitor-like experience, making it a high-quality primary or secondary screen. Plus, the aluminum build makes using it that much more satisfying.
Performance-first gamers: Yes, the 16X Aurora can certainly keep up with most any other gaming laptop in its class. However, you can save more money with a laptop that's less focused on desk appeal, possibly with the same components for less money, or with better parts for the same price.
Best Gaming/Content Creation Laptop Crossover
Razer Blade 18 (Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX)
- Remarkable power-to-profile ratio
- Slim and (relatively) portable design
- Unique dual-mode 4K/FHD display
- Superb battery life for its size
- Extremely priced top configurations
- Low thermal headroom limits peak performance
- 440Hz display mode is super-niche
Want a heavyweight gaming laptop with a welterweight design? The Razer Blade 18 wonderfully balances desktop-replacement power with a refined CNC-aluminum shell and Razer's familiar look. You’ll need heavy cash to snag it, though; the Blade 18's configurations make this a top-notch luxury investment reserved for PC gaming die-hards.
Design: The Razer Blade 18 is a big-screen desktop replacement that doesn't go the bulky route. This full-metal gaming laptop delivers connectivity and massive expandability in an exceptionally thin, premium frame. Comprehensive I/O ports include USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet jack, and a full-size SD card reader, alongside two user-accessible M.2 NVMe slots and two SO-DIMM memory slots, supporting (respectively) up to 8TB of storage and 96GB of RAM.
Display: Featuring an 18-inch panel with narrow bezels, the display uses dual-mode technology to instantly switch between color-accurate 4K at 240Hz for creative work and ultra-fast 1200p at 440Hz for competitive/esports gaming.
Performance: Powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and high-end Nvidia graphics, this ultra-thin laptop delivers strong real-world gaming, productivity, and creative performance. Although the slim chassis limits thermal headroom compared with thicker rivals, the system's real-world multi-threaded performance and gaming speeds are impressive.
Battery life: The Razer Blade 18 delivers class-leading battery life (just shy of 6 hours), outlasting competing gaming laptops in its size category during everyday productivity and media playback tasks.
Value for money: With a starting price of $3,499.99 and configurations reaching $5,199.99, the Razer Blade 18 is a serious investment, even for a high-end gaming machine. But with dual-mode display tech, expandable specs, and dual-threat performance, it truly earns the title of Best Gaming/Content Creation Crossover.
Esports competitors: Competitive gamers know that it's all about smooth motion and low latency. The dual-mode 1200p/440Hz display panel may be niche, but it eliminates visual stutter and motion blur during fast-paced multiplayer matches.
Artists and engineers (who also game): Professionals who need the most power will love what's inside the Blade 18. Between its top-end components, advanced display, loads of storage and memory, and slick build, this is the Windows laptop to beat for creatives—as long as portability isn't a top priority. When you're not working, the dual-mode display allows you to toggle between crisp 4K at 240Hz for editing and 1200p at 440Hz for fast-twitch play.
Pros who care about aesthetics: The Blade 18 is the ideal companion if you demand a massive screen without the bulk of a traditional media workstation. Instead of a flashy rig that feels out of place in professional settings, the refined all-metal profile maintains a sophisticated look while housing a high-performance interior.
Value-focused power users: If you want the top raw performance-per-dollar, look to the thicker, less expensive 18-inch competitors that offer lower prices and fewer thermal constraints. Not only will you get more bang for the buck, but the specialized 440Hz display mode offers little practical benefit for non-competitive gaming.
The Best Gaming Laptops for 2026 Compare Specs
How to Choose a Gaming Laptop: Start With Your Budget
No surprise here: The ultimate factor in your gaming laptop purchase decision will be how much money you have to spend. Gaming systems have higher-end components than run-of-the-mill consumer laptops, so their prices will be higher, but the range across the category is huge, from under a grand to nearly $5,000. Budget gaming laptops start at around $900 and can go up to about $1,300 with current pricing trends due to memory and storage shortages. For that, you get a system that can play games at full HD resolution (1080p) with the settings turned down in demanding titles, or at maximum quality settings in simpler and/or older games. Storage will likely be a modest-capacity solid-state drive (SSD); a hard drive indicates an older model best avoided. An SSD as the boot drive is always preferable.
Want something better? Midrange systems deliver smoother gameplay at high or maximum settings on a higher-quality 1080p or 1440p screen (which supports high refresh rates; more on that in a moment). These models will range in price from around $1,500 to $2,500.
High-end systems, meanwhile, should guarantee you smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p with graphics details maxed out, invariably on a high-refresh screen. They may even let you play at 4K resolution, if the screen and GPU support it. A high-end model should also power additional external monitors. These machines tend to come with capacious PCIe SSDs and are priced above $2,500, often closer to $3,000 and beyond.
Still, you can easily spend more than $3,000 on a gaming laptop, with some models (particularly the 18-inchers, when fully kitted out) approaching $5,000. A big, beautiful screen often comes with a high price tag and is paired with the highest-end components.
Some laptops in this class support QHD (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) and QHD-equivalent (2,560-by-1,600-pixel in 16:10 aspect ratio) screens, 4K screens, and unseen extras like ultra-efficient cooling fans to power top-end parts. Thanks to modern advancements, an increasing number of systems are even relatively thin and portable. With laptops in this tier, you'll either pay a premium for high-end performance in a thin chassis or pay for maximum power in a chunkier build.
Of course, these prices are just rough guidelines based on what we've seen in the recent past. Between swirling tariffs and a memory and storage crunch, the market is experiencing more turmoil than ever, driving up prices. Increasingly, laptop makers are keeping product pricing close to the chest until launch due to that uncertainty, and everything is subject to change. We'll do our best to keep on top of these changing prices, but always browse the latest deals and availability when considering a system.
Which Component Matters Most for Gaming Laptops?
While your budget will be the ultimate deciding factor, knowing which components to prioritize can be challenging. Unless you have no spending limit, you must choose where to compromise and where to double down between the graphics processing unit (GPU), central processing unit (CPU or processor), memory, storage, and display. We'll run through the different components below, in the order you should spend your cash.
1. GPU
It's natural to ask, "What is the best GPU for a gaming laptop?" But that's not quite the right question for your shopping search. The "best" GPU overall will always be the fastest, most expensive AMD or Nvidia has to sell, so you should ask: "What's the best GPU for my gaming goals and budget?" We consider a laptop a gaming laptop only if it has a discrete graphics chip from Nvidia or AMD (or, much less commonly, an Intel Arc GPU).
A quick crash course for the uninitiated: The higher the suffix number in a given GPU series, the more powerful it is. For example, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 will generally produce faster frame rates and higher-quality graphics than an RTX 5070, and so on down the stack. Also, the leading "50" denotes the generation, so the latest GeForce RTX 50 series is preferable to the older RTX 40 series. For example, the GeForce RTX 5080 is the successor to the RTX 4080, and so on.
Nvidia dominates the field of GPUs in the gaming laptops right now, currently producing discrete GeForce RTX 50-series mobile GPUs based on its "Blackwell" microarchitecture. You may still see some lower-end RTX 40-series ("Ada Lovelace") GPUs offered, especially if you come across a deal for an older laptop still in stock. But almost all new gaming models have moved on to the RTX 50 series.
Nvidia's current GeForce GPUs carry an RTX designation (rather than the GTX name of old), a nod to the ray-tracing lighting technology that provides enhanced visuals with compatible games. This fancy real-time lighting effect looks impressive, but it is very demanding to run. (See our primer on PC ray-tracing.)
Nvidia did not launch any new gaming GPUs at this year's CES or Computex shows, so the laptop-GPU hierarchy is frozen as is for the foreseeable future. Even though it's expected that you will be able to play games well on the upcoming, highly anticipated Arm-based RTX Spark chips, these won't supplant the mainstream GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs in gaming machines.
As for the model hierarchy, high-priced notebooks with RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 GPUs are exceptional performers at all resolutions (more on 4K and scaling technologies in a moment). Moving down the stack, Nvidia has RTX 5070 Ti, 5070, 5060, and 5050 GPUs. Laptops like the Acer Nitro V 16 AI and MSI Katana 15 HX have shown that even the entry-level RTX 5050 can deliver fast frame rates at full HD resolutions, a big win for price-conscious shoppers. The RTX 5070 Ti occupies the upper-midrange tier below true premium RTX 5080 and 5090, while the RTX 5070 has proved to be Nvidia’s true midrange GPU.
Meanwhile, like the RTX 4060 before it, the RTX 5060 lives in less expensive machines that define the top end of "entry-level" or the lower end of midrange. Think of the RTX 5060 as a reliable, steady pick for full HD laptops that can stretch to 1400p or 1600p at times. These are your bread-and-butter laptops, just above bargain-priced systems. (The RTX 5050 dominates the budget territory.)
Combined with an AI-based rendering and upscaling technique called DLSS, Nvidia GPUs can enable ray tracing at higher resolutions in the latest titles. Nvidia is continuously working on this technology, and the improvements in DLSS 4.5, are a major factor in the effectiveness of its current GPUs. DLSS 4 was originally exclusive to RTX 50-series GPUs, but the launch of DLSS 4.5 at CES 2026 added new features and support for older RTX GPUs. That brings superior performance and quality to older RTX GPUs, too, though only the RTX 50-series GPUs can use Nvidia's more advanced transformer model. Meanwhile, DLSS 5 launched in September 2026 with some controversy.
Depending on the laptop, demanding games may not hit the usual agreed-upon smoothness target of 60 frames per second (fps) at 4K resolution, especially with ray tracing enabled. It's much more feasible for a laptop to deliver a high frame rate at a high resolution like 4K with a top-end GPU leaning on DLSS 4.5 and its "frame generation" feature. The latter stitches AI-generated frames between GPU-rendered frames to boost frame rates. With DLSS 4 and onward, Nvidia's biggest GPU frame-rate gains are likely to come from DLSS rather than pure horsepower.
This technology can help powerful laptops squeeze out extra performance at the highest detail and resolution settings, and, conversely, enable budget laptops to run cutting-edge games smoothly. We recommend DLSS for running ray tracing at higher resolutions, particularly 4K. The top-end RTX 50 series GPUs are much more capable than lower-tier chips (with or without DLSS), but even these mighty GPUs greatly benefit from DLSS at 4K.
Laptop GPUs do not perform 1:1 in line with their same-numbered desktop counterparts, even if based on the same architecture, but their performance is still respectable. Also know: We've found some sizable real-world performance variance between the same laptop-class GPU in one laptop versus the same silicon in another, depending mostly on the power or wattage limits that laptop manufacturers impose on the GPU due to thermal considerations in the design. To see why this is, read our article comparing the laptop versus desktop GeForce RTX 4090, and pay attention to the listed TGP on any given laptop GPU. This makes laptop shopping a bit more complicated than simply finding the GPU model in the spec sheet. Our hands on testing is more important than ever.
Nvidia is still the leading player in laptop graphics, and while its rival, AMD, does have some discrete graphics chips designed for laptops, it's mostly ceded the ground to Nvidia. AMD's most recent mobile generation is the Radeon RX 7000M line, but we've seen those chips in few laptops since launch, and they're almost a non-factor. One interesting wrinkle you may have heard about: Intel and Nvidia are joining forces on new chips that, while not discrete GPUs, will leverage system memory and Nvidia graphics chiplets to deliver better-than-integrated-graphics performance. These likely won't launch for some time, but they may be a factor in the lower end of the gaming market in the next year or two.
Even given all the above complexity, we can still draw some basic conclusions about graphics performance. Today, a single midrange or high-end discrete GPU will let you play the latest AAA gaming titles at 1080p with high-quality settings enabled. Where the GeForce RTX 4070 and 4080 were capable 1440p gaming GPUs, the RTX 50 series raised the baseline and made high-resolution gaming on laptops more plausible. Add in DLSS, and even lower-end gaming laptops can run most titles smoothly, though you may need to tweak the settings.
2. CPU
As you may have surmised from the GPU section, we have no single answer to the question, "What CPU do I need for a gaming laptop?" There are even more options than GPUs, but you'll likely find a select few processor series from Intel and AMD in most of today's new gaming laptops. Intel's high-performance 14th Gen "Raptor Lake Refresh" H processors are some of the most common. If you see an H in the suffix of a processor, for both Intel and AMD chips, it denotes high performance.
Intel's more AI-focused Core Ultra line wasn't seen in too many gaming laptops across its first two generations, until the Core Ultra 200H ("Arrow Lake") and 200HX Plus ("Arrow Lake Refresh") chips hit the market. You'll see these processors in a few of our high-end selections here, delivering the power of 14th Gen Core chips with the efficiency of the Core Ultra line.
Intel's most recent generation of processors is the Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" and Core Series 3 "Wildcat Lake" lines, and while you may spot the former in a gaming laptop here and there, these are less of a factor for the category. You can spot these by their Core Ultra 300 or Core 300 product names. Panther Lake's superpower is its efficiency and (in some flavors of the chip) its highly capable Arc B390 integrated graphics chiplet. The Arc B390 is wasted in gaming laptops that already tout a stronger discrete GPU, so Panther Lake chips used in gaming laptops tend not to have that GPU. Wildcat Lake chips, meanwhile, are low-power processors for budget laptops, and not a great fit for gaming.
As for AMD, the last couple of years were a bit of a silicon onslaught, bringing us the Ryzen 9000 HX ("Fire Range"), Ryzen AI 300 ("Strix Point"), and Ryzen 200 processors we still see in new laptops today. AMD also launched Ryzen 400 CPUs in early 2026. Compared with Intel options, gaming laptops with these chips are less common, but you will find a few among our picks. The Ryzen 200 processors appear in less expensive gaming options, while Ryzen AI 300 chips appear in premium and highly portable machines.
Within each of those series lineups, AMD and Intel produce processors in ascending 5-, 7-, and 9-tiers. (A "3" tier exists, but you'll seldom see it in a gaming laptop.) Within each tier of a chip family are multiple additional models. Though higher numbers are generally better when you're comparing CPUs within a given family, to make cross-brand or cross-family comparisons, you really need to rely on benchmark test numbers. For example, Intel's Panther Lake laptop chip line might have processors like the Core Ultra 7 356H and the Core Ultra 9 386H, and you can reasonably infer that the Ultra 9 will outpace the Ultra 7. Likewise, AMD's Ryzen AI 300 series might have a Ryzen AI 7 350 and a more powerful Ryzen AI 9 365. But comparing, say, the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 really requires looking at test numbers, not just chip names and number tiers.
Try to make sense of the chip names' suffixes, and you may need a decoder ring. But generally, you can glean some useful insights from processor names. The first portion includes the series name (Core i, Core Ultra, Ryzen, or Ryzen AI), the 5, 7, or 9 power level, and a generation number (like 300 or 14000), with specific numbers and suffixes that denote placement within that family (such as 365 versus 375, or 14700H versus 14900HX). If nothing else, remember that higher likely means better, and the most basic tier of power is the 5, 7, or 9.
Many entry-level and midrange gaming systems house 7-class processors, while the most expensive models flaunt 9-class chips. The most affordable systems settle for 5-class chips. In general, more cores and higher clock speeds improve overall efficiency and performance. This can be especially helpful for multithreaded tasks such as media-edit projects, though games will take any additional resources they can get, too. However, always look at benchmarks if this kind of multithreaded performance matters to you. Why? Having a higher core count isn't always "better," since not all core types are equal, especially in this age of high-performance, efficiency-minded cores mixed into some CPUs.
If you have to choose between a deluxe CPU and a high-end GPU, however, go for the graphics. For example, we'd recommend getting a Core 5-class processor over a 7 if the money saved could go, say, toward an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 GPU instead of an RTX 5050. Most CPUs sold in gaming laptops are fast enough these days, and graphics will be the bottleneck for gaming. Spending your money on the GPU makes more sense if gaming is your chief concern.
You can largely follow the same 5-, 7-, and 9-tier logic when shopping for AMD. Any Ryzen 9000, Ryzen AI 300 (with their own H and HX designations), or Intel 14th Gen Intel H-class chip should be capable enough for gaming under most circumstances.
In short: The potent H and HX processors from AMD and Intel alike are the ones to look for, especially in pricier models. 5- and 7-tier chips are the best bets for most shoppers regardless of which processor brand you're eyeing, with 9-tier chips only for the biggest budgets and highest power demands (such as for serious content creation work alongside your gaming).
3. RAM
How much memory should you get? If you want a rundown of needs for different scenarios (including gaming), check out our RAM buying guide. In short, for gaming on Windows, 8GB of memory is the absolute minimum (you won't see a true gaming laptop with any less), but we recommend at least 16GB. Many new PC games list 16GB as the recommended amount, if not the outright requirement. This much memory will give you some breathing room when switching back and forth between your gameplay and some browser windows or other side tasks. It can even support streaming video simultaneously.
Even more RAM, like 32GB, is more common than it used to be; many enthusiast gamers are power users who are constantly multitasking, and this capacity helps. On the other hand, a budget gaming laptop should function OK with 8GB of RAM, but it's not recommended. You should be aware that some gaming laptops are not upgradable, and you may be stuck with the amount of memory you order.
Beware, however, that RAM is more expensive than ever. A memory supply crunch has driven up prices due to an insatiable demand for memory in AI infrastructure, and laptop (and other computer) costs are rising as a result. This may lead you to lean toward a lower capacity when shopping, but the price increases are beyond just ordering more RAM—you'll likely notice higher costs across PCs as a whole.
4. Screen
This aspect has become increasingly complicated for gaming laptops, really boiling down to two questions: "What is the best size for a laptop screen?" and "What is the best refresh rate?"
First, regarding display size, we're always talking about the diagonal distance from corner to corner. A 15.6-inch screen was the traditional sweet spot for a gaming laptop, but 16-inch screens are replacing that size as the new standard. You can buy models with larger displays, but this will almost certainly increase the weight to well beyond five pounds and put portability in question.
Larger 18-inch laptops began arriving in force in early 2023, and they've stuck around. These have all but replaced 17-inch laptops as the largest laptop screens you'll find, offering a monitor-like experience that can permanently replace a desktop or serve as one when you're away from home.
Smaller, super-portable gaming laptops, usually around 14 inches, are also mildly popular. These are for gamers who know they'll be on the go frequently, but make sure you're OK with this smaller size if it will be your primary gaming PC.
In terms of resolution, the default minimum has changed slightly as many laptop screens have shifted from a 16:9 to a 16:10 aspect ratio—screens that are just as wide but a little taller. This changes the exact pixel count, but the resolutions are nearly functionally identical: You'll find either a "full HD" 1080p screen (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) in a 16:9 aspect ratio, or a full HD-equivalent 1200p (1,920 by 1,200 pixels) in a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Those are generally the lowest resolutions you'll see, and for gaming laptops, this HD picture both looks sharp enough and is less taxing on your hardware. Higher resolutions have more pixels, making it more strenuous to run games, which in turn means you'll need more powerful laptop hardware. For this reason, many budget and mainstream laptops stick to 1080p (or 1200p) to ensure higher frame rates.
More expensive laptops can give you those higher-than-full-HD resolutions, but choose wisely, as a resolution of 1440p/1600p (QHD) or 4K (UHD) can boost the real-world cost twice: first for the more advanced panel and second, for that higher-quality graphics chip you'll need to drive it to its full potential. As mentioned, look for a high-refresh-rate screen (as discussed earlier) for smoother visuals; they are now standard on gaming laptops, but the peak possible refresh rates do vary.
Because they require the most potent GPUs for smooth gameplay at native resolution, gaming laptops with 4K screens (3,840 by 2,160 pixels in 16:9) are still an exception, and still expensive. Only the most powerful and pricey GPUs can render complex game animations at playable frame rates at 4K, so a 1080p or 1440p screen may be a better use of your money if all you do is play games.
Even though the RTX 4080, 4090, 5080, and 5090 can handle 4K gaming much more ably than any laptop GPUs before them, we still don't generally think it's worth the cost to seek out 4K gaming in laptops unless you can spend big. Nvidia's DLSS and AMD's FSR can greatly improve frame rates at high resolutions, making 4K play more attainable than ever. However, these resolutions are still generally recommended with more powerful desktop GPUs. The screens do look excellent, though, especially when paired with OLED technology. QHD is often a better resolution pairing for modern high-end GPUs on laptops.
Now, to address the refresh rate question. Refresh rate is the number of times a screen refreshes its image per second, and thus how "fast" it can display images in succession. This will always be a relatively large number measured in hertz (Hz). Refresh rate functions alongside a video game's frame rate, measured in frames per second (fps); the Hz limit of your screen is the maximum number of frames per second the display can render. Together, these determine how smooth a game looks in practice: The computer's CPU and GPU can power a game at a specific frame rate, and your screen needs to support at least that many refreshes per second (Hz) to display the images at the same rate.
As with GPUs, you should consider what your target refresh rate is for your gaming goals. In the past, the power of a GPU like the RTX 5070 would have looked like overkill for gaming at "just" 1080p, but several new factors can harness that extra potential. A high-refresh-rate screen is now the norm in new gaming laptops, allowing for a full display of lofty frame rates to smooth out the perceived gameplay. You'll need a powerful graphics chip to leverage the benefits of a high-refresh panel with demanding games. You can identify machines like these by marketing lingo about, say, a 144Hz, 240Hz, or even 300Hz-plus screen. (A typical display on a laptop is a 60Hz panel, but gaming models all have 144Hz-plus screens now.)
A 144Hz panel is emerging as the most common, but we're also seeing some 240Hz and even 360Hz options in pricey models, all capable of displaying more than 60 frames per second (for example, up to 144fps on 144Hz screens). This makes gameplay look smoother, but in many cases, only high-end GPUs can push those limits. Additionally, the aforementioned ray-tracing techniques (real-time lighting and reflection effects) are resource-intensive, but as more video games implement them, you will want to keep them on. They add to the experience.
Because of that, you have multiple reasons to opt for a high-end GPU, even if playing games at full HD (1080p) resolution doesn't look too demanding to you on paper. On the lower end, DLSS can also help less powerful hardware like the RTX 4050 or 5050 run ray tracing with limited downsides, so you're not totally out of luck if you can't afford the top-end chips. DLSS support is far from universal, but it's increasingly appearing in more games.
Nvidia's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync technologies are more down-to-earth. They help improve the gaming experience and smooth frame rates by letting the laptop screen refresh the on-screen image at a variable rate that matches the GPU's output (rather than the screen's fixed refresh rate). Look for support for one of those technologies if you're a stickler for perfectly rendered visuals. These technologies, collectively known as "adaptive sync," tend to appear in pricier machines, with G-Sync being much more common on laptops.
5. Storage
How much storage space should you get in a gaming laptop SSD? These days, virtually every laptop comes with an SSD as the boot drive, and most have eliminated spinning hard drives entirely.
SSDs speed up boot time, wake-from-sleep time, and game launch and level load times, and essentially every laptop benefits from these factors now. Only older laptops will still have a hard drive as the boot drive. The bad news? Like with RAM, SSD prices are rising, too. (AI infrastructure demands are hitting storage just as hard.) You'll likely see increased costs for SSD capacity upgrades as the year goes on, as well as higher baked-in prices overall.
On large gaming laptops, it was previously common to see a small-capacity (256GB) SSD as the boot drive, paired with a roomy (1TB or greater) secondary drive to store the bulk of your library. This kind of combination is rare now, only seen on older models; as higher-capacity SSDs have become more affordable, a single large SSD has become the norm. A 512GB SSD is the new default, even on budget gaming laptops, with 1TB the mainstream capacity. High-end systems will include a 2TB or larger SSD. Almost all new gaming laptops implement their boot SSDs in the M.2 gumstick format.
Adding greater SSD capacity will increase the price, but it may be necessary, given how large modern game installations can be, so shop accordingly. We recommend at least a 512GB SSD if you can afford it; even then, your library will fill up your drive fast. If you see 256GB sold, that suggests an older model; bump up the capacity if you can, unless you know you only want to play smaller indie titles, perhaps. A too-small SSD can mean you're forever shuffling games on and off the drive.
One workaround: Some larger gaming laptops include an extra M.2 SSD slot or two, in addition to the slot holding the boot drive. It may be possible to add an aftermarket M.2 drive and designate that as your secondary "game" drive, if space runs low.
6. Battery
Given that high-end components tend to drain battery life, don't plan on taking any of these gaming rigs too far from a wall socket. Gaming laptops have improved, on average, in battery life, but it's generally not a long-lasting category. While many will now get you five, six, or seven hours, we still see more powerful laptops last only two to three hours in our rundown test. It's also something you can't tell just by shopping for a laptop without looking at our reviews.
This is, of course, before even playing games on battery. Doing so will drain your laptop's battery quickly, so you'll need to plug in soon if you're playing on battery power. Between the fact that you're going to buy this laptop to play games mostly and a battery run time that's short, even when you're not gaming, battery power just is not one of the priorities when buying a gaming laptop. Longer is still better than shorter, and we include at least one gaming pick on our guide to the laptops with the best battery life, but it's not a strength of gaming machines.
Buying the Best Cheap Gaming Laptop
If you're shopping for a gaming system on a limited budget (roughly $800 to $1,300), you must make some sacrifices. Maximizing power while staying within a limited price range is the goal, but you'll have to accept that some components won't be as potent as those in more expensive laptops you'll see while browsing. That said, $1,200 is a reasonable ceiling for what some buyers are ready to spend on a gaming laptop, and you can still get an effective system for that much. (Check out our side roundup of the best cheap gaming laptops.)
The main drop-off will be in the graphics since the dedicated graphics chip is one of the most expensive components in a machine and the primary factor in a laptop's gaming prowess. The graphics chip almost single-handedly defines the class of laptop you're dealing with, so pay attention to that part. Fortunately, even the less powerful GPU options these days are pretty capable.
Past budget systems were equipped almost exclusively with those wallet-friendly Nvidia GeForce GTX GPUs we mentioned earlier. The RTX 4050 has been the go-to budget GPU of the past few years, with the rare RTX 4060 system sometimes found at budget pricing.
However, the mobile RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 are now available. Sure, you'll be able to play smoothly at 1080p with an RTX 4050, just not at high settings in newer games; the RTX 5050 raises the bar, making even demanding titles playable with DLSS 4. All should be able to provide at least a decent level of VR play if that's your thing.
Processors are the next most significant difference. In a budget model, you'll likely get a capable Core 5 instead of a faster Core 7. Still, some of the benefits of a Core 7 machine aren't major for gaming; they're more significant for video editing and other creative uses. A Core 5-class chip will usually do the job for basic budget gaming. Over the past few years, we saw more AMD Ryzen CPUs in cheap, general-use laptops than in affordable gaming laptops, despite their adoption in some higher-end or ultraportable gaming systems. AMD GPUs are much less common in gaming laptops than Nvidia ones. You'll probably be sussing out Intel CPUs and Nvidia GPUs when shopping in the gaming budget zone.
Aside from the graphics card and processor, the other components should be closer to those of more expensive machines than you'd expect. SSD boot drives are the norm in all new gaming laptops, though they may be small in capacity. The display will almost certainly be 1080p; grainy 1,366-by-768-pixel panels are now reserved only for the very cheapest non-gaming systems, while sharp 1440p isn't a budget resolution. The very cheapest gaming laptops will likely include 8GB of memory, but you will find plenty of entry-level 16GB laptops these days.
What Else Do You Need to Up Your Game?
Ports like USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 5 are beneficial now and will only be more so down the road, but look for at least two ordinary-shaped (aka, "Type-A") USB 3.0 ports so you can plug in an external mouse and a hard drive for your saved media files. Then you have a load of extras like RGB key and chassis lighting, software performance modes, and Ethernet ports for wired downloads or online gaming.
If you want to attach a wired VR headset to your rig, look for a loadout with the right ports to accommodate it. You'll need a well-placed HDMI or DisplayPort video-out port (depending on the headset) and enough USB ports for a possible hydra-head of cabling. Other video ports, like DisplayPort or mini-DisplayPort (sometimes implemented over a USB-C port), will be helpful if you want to play games on an external display, but they aren't necessary if your laptop's screen is large enough.
Which Brand Is Best to Buy a Gaming Laptop From?
Our picks span many brands, though we often see the same names rate highly on our lists. Some of these are gaming specialists, and others are not. At any given time, you should expect to see some systems from the biggest manufacturers, which always sell multiple models and configurations at various price points. These primarily include Acer, Asus, Dell, and Lenovo. The last, in particular, has been serving up impressive value in the gaming category recently.
Some of the more specialist brands that consistently produce high-quality gaming rigs are Alienware (a Dell subsidiary), Gigabyte, MSI, and Razer. Some of these, particularly Razer machines, come with hefty price premiums but emphasize superior build quality.
Ready to Buy the Right Gaming Laptop for You?
Feeling more prepared now to buy than before? We hope so. Our detailed spec breakdown of the top-pick machines we have laid out should help you settle on the best gaming laptop that fits your budget and gaming aspirations. Game on!
