Check out our picks for the best gaming laptops from companies like Razer, Asus, Acer and more.
Gaming laptops are great for playing PC games on the go. They’re also great if you’d rather have a (relatively) compact system than a desktop PC. But to choose the right one, you have to consider more than just a laptop’s raw power and raw specs. And there are a lot of important nuances not reflected by a list of features.
A laptop with the best graphics card, solid-state drive and processor may have the specs to blow your mind, but it could all underperform if the components overheat easily — or it throttles back performance to prevent that from happening. And though you probably don’t always use an external mechanical keyboard with per-key RGB backlighting, a laptop’s WASD keys can feel like mashed potatoes under your fingers.
Quality doesn’t come cheap, but if you’re on a tight budget and know where to compromise — such as looking for a model with components you can upgrade later to make your upfront cost a little lower, or opting for a screen that’s lower resolution and a slower refresh rate — you can still get something that’ll ensure a good gaming experience.
Plus, advances in cloud gaming mean you can play more games on lower-end hardware than ever before. So it’s not a given that you’ll need to bust your budget to pay for a new laptop. With cloud gaming, you do have subscription fees, so make sure to factor that in.
Check out our recommendations for best gaming laptops below. This list is periodically updated as we test and review products so you can find your own best gaming laptop. Our picks
Dell’s G15 has been a favorite budget gaming laptop for the past few years, along with the HP Victus line. In late 2022, a 16-inch G16 joined the veteran 15-inch G15. If you’re looking for a gaming laptop bargain, the G15 is the way to go. But if you can afford to spend a couple of hundred dollars more and don’t mind the step up in size, the G16 is a better bet for longevity.
The Acer Nitro 5 comes in both 17.3- and 15.6-inch sizes. A 17-inch cheap gaming laptop is a rarity with entry-level gaming laptops; most sub-$1,000 gaming laptops have 15.6-inch displays, and the Acer’s larger screen lets you sink in and get lost in your chosen gaming world. The 17-inch version we reviewed starts at less than $900 with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H,1080p screen and an GTX if you’re OK with 8GB RAM. If you can manage about $200 more though, you can get a significantly better system, with an i7-11800H, RTX 3050 Ti and 16GB RAM.
One of the first of the new generation of 18-inch laptops, the m18 can get expensive if you push it up to a high configuration — an RTX 4090 and Core i9-13900HX will get you to $3,300 even without a lot of memory or storage. But if the big screen is most important to you, it starts at $2,000 with a respectable i7-13650HX and RTX 4050. And don’t expect great battery life, and the fans can get loud when you’re pushing it.
A smaller version than the 15-inch staple, the 14-inch Razer Blade delivers a lot of gaming power for its size without feeling small — an important consideration for a gaming laptop.
