Gaming laptops have moved on dramatically in recent years, with the unwieldy designs of the past now being replaced by refined gems with ever-improving power and capabilities.
So, instead of the heavy and LED-encrusted monsters that once would crush your femurs - should you dare rest it on your thighs - the typical form factor is now a slightly bumper-sized notebook. There’s no need to compromise on specs either, with the elite-level refresh rates, graphics cards, keyboards and trackpads all available.
With the modern gamer having so many choices at their disposal, and with gaming laptops typically not coming cheap, which are the ones you really want to be considering?
That’s where this guide comes in. We’ve tested the latest and greatest options in order to deliver a list of recommendations for different types of users, as well as providing a dedicated section for those looking for advice before buying.
Here are our choices for the top gaming laptops, for those who’d rather buy than build.
Our Top Pick: Best Gaming Laptop
For
- Fantastic keyboard Compact, attractive design Brilliant screen
Against
- Underside can get warm during gaming Not as affordable as its predecessor
As gaming laptops go, there are few that get the balance between practical, portable design and power like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It’s not just one of our favourite gaming machines, it’s one of our favourite laptops.
It’s speedy, performs really well and has a great, vivid screen capable of smooth refresh rates. More importantly though is that it’s compact, and will easily fit in any backpack or messenger bag. Plus, it has one of the nicest keyboards we’ve ever used on a laptop.
You can comfortably sit on it to get work done on your lap too, although once you plug the power in and start putting it to task in games, you may want to move it off your lap. It gets pretty toasty under there. It’s also not the cheapest, but all-in-all it’s a machine that’s difficult to find too much fault in.
Excellent battery life Amazingly portable XG Mobile dock for serious gaming
Not many USB ports without the dock attached Hot on the lap under load
The Asus ROG Flow X13, when purchased with the XG Mobile dock, offers the best of both worlds. It’s a slim and lightweight notebook that can handle a bit of gaming, and it even has a 360-hinge and touchscreen, allowing it to be used like a tablet.
When you’re ready for a serious gaming session, simply plug it into the RTX 3080-powered dock, and watch your frame rates go through the roof. You can use the dock to keep a monitor and peripherals connected, too, making the X13 a full desktop replacement.
The advantage of this formula is that you don’t have to lug around a heavy machine when you’re out and about, and you get much better battery life. This is because, when you’re away from the dock, the laptop runs an efficient GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics card instead.
High-resolution and very bright screen Surprisingly effective and quiet cooling Classy metal casing
Shallower keyboard than the Legion 5 Pro The display doesn’t have the deepest blacks
The Lenovo Legion 7 is a superb performer. It has an excellent cooling system that offers high performance without the usual high-pitch noise from overworked fans. Its speakers are a cut above your average laptop, too.
The chassis design is premium. Made of mostly metal and, with its lighting turned off, it looks like a rather sensible workstation. With it turned on, it’s a different story. The Legion 7 has per-key RGB lighting on its keyboard as well as LED strips running around the edges and even shining through the vents. It’s all highly customisable too, letting you set the lighting to your taste.
If you love LEDs and need the power of the RTX 3080, the Legion 7 is one to look at.
Serious specs Superb 4K screen Excellent RGB lighting accents
Not nearly enough USB-A ports The backlit trackpad may be distracting for some
As Alienware is essentially a gaming brand, this list would be amiss without one.
There’s no hiding the gaming prowess of the Alienware X17 R1, it sports the tried and tested Alienware aesthetic with its ‘Lunar Light’ off-white finish and glowing accents. Combined with large honeycomb vents for cooling, it looks like it means business.
Luckily, the specs back it up, it features an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics on a 17.3" 1080p or 4K screen, an Intel Core i7 processor, and 32GB RAM.
Gorgeous design Quiet fans Excellent keyboard
Way more expensive than similarly specced laptops Cumbersome to use as a tablet
The Flow Z13 has a similar form factor to Microsoft’s Surface Pro, and can be used as either a tablet or a laptop, but rather than being focused on productivity, the Z13 is all about gaming.
It’s a wonderfully designed piece of hardware, with a space-age aesthetic and even an RGB-illuminated window that shows off some of the internals. The parts that impressed us the most are the quiet and efficient fans and the surprisingly nice keyboard.
If you’re looking for something a bit different, the Z13 is certainly that. The only catch is that you can find laptops with similar, or better, specs for a lower asking price - none of them are quite as cool as this one, though.
How to choose a gaming laptop
There’s a frankly ridiculous amount of gaming laptops on the market at any given time, and finding the right one for you can be an uphill battle. Before you get bogged down in spec sheets, here are some questions you should ask yourself before splashing the cash.
What games will you be playing?
Obviously, if you’re looking for a gaming laptop, you’re going to need it to handle your favourite games. This will mostly fall under CPU and graphics card performance, but there are a few other factors to consider, as well.
If you love more graphically demanding games like GTA V and Cyberpunk, then you’ll want to focus on finding a laptop that’s filled with top-end hardware. If you’re more into strategy games like Crusader Kings, or casual titles like Fall Guys, then you may be satisfied with a more mid-range configuration. Our gaming laptop reviews always test performance on some popular titles, so they should give you a good idea of what to expect.
The other things to consider are the keyboard, which may be very important if you plan to use it for first-person shooters and equally the monitor’s refresh rate. If you play a lot of reaction-based competitive games, then a 120hz and the above screen will be ideal for you. If you prefer single-player games, you can save some money by purchasing a 60hz option.
What do you need it to do outside of gaming?
One of the best things about PC gaming is that you can use your PC for all manner of tasks outside of gaming. Thanks to the high-end hardware found in these devices, they’re particularly suited for creative tasks like video editing, graphic design, 3D rendering and live broadcasting.
Video editors will want a display with a high degree of colour accuracy, and usually a resolution greater than 1080p. Whereas those who want a gaming laptop that can double up as an office machine will likely want to focus a bit more on webcam quality and battery life.
Where will you be using it?
If your gaming laptop will spend most of its life on your desk, then it doesn’t particularly matter if it weighs half a tonne. However, if you’ll be lugging it around in a backpack, then you’ll want to keep a keen eye on the device’s portability. Battery life, too, is a big factor here, and it’s worth noting that performance can differ significantly when running on battery as opposed to mains power.
You will also want to consider the connectivity options. If you want to plug in multiple monitors and a host of peripherals, then your ideal laptop should accommodate those. Luckily, in the gaming laptop space, we’re usually well covered with connectivity, and rarely have to resort to dongle life.
What about audio on gaming laptops?
Most hardcore gamers prefer to use a headset for maximum audio fidelity, so they might not care much about a laptop’s speakers. However, as we’ve said, a PC can be used for many things. If you’re likely to watch a movie on the thing, then you’ll definitely want to look at the speaker performance - there’s nothing worse than a tinny, quiet speaker to ruin the immersion, after all. This is an area where options differ wildly, ranging from barely audible to pretty darn good. Check out some of our headphone guides for in-depth comparisons.
How much can you spend?
The sky really is the limit when it comes to a gaming laptop, and, while ultra-premium options are often in the region of multiple thousands, there are some great budget options, too. This is an area where a higher price usually means higher performance components, but there are a few things to watch out for.
To get the most out of your money, you might want to look at a lower resolution display. A 1080p gaming experience will still look great on a laptop’s relatively small screen, and won’t need such a beefy graphics card to run.
Most gamers won’t need shed-loads of RAM. You can usually get away with about 16GB on even the most demanding titles. So as long as you’re not planning any heavy-duty video rendering, you can avoid overspending by cutting down on the system memory.
