From outstanding overhauls to newcomers bringing their own new thing, these are the best gaming laptops of CES 2021.
The virtual CES 2021 event may be different this year, but that hasn’t stopped it from rolling out impressive tech as per usual. The best gaming laptops of this year’s CES are a mix of many first-rate refreshes, a few outstanding overhauls of existing models, and notable newcomers. To name-drop a few, the MSI Stealth 15M now comes with a brand-new shell that gives it a legitimate claim to the title of thinnest gaming laptop in the world. Meanwhile, the new Asus TUF Dash F15 comes with a hip design, military-grade durability, and an affordable price tag – proving once and for all that you don’t need to spend the big bucks for sheer power and portability. With Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3000 graphics coming to gaming laptops this year, the time to upgrade to a brand spanking new model is now. The best gaming laptops of CES 2021 are proof that power and portability can go hand in hand, and we’ve gathered them all right here. Bigger and better display Lenovo has released several gaming laptops this year, including the Legion Slim 7, the Legion 5 Pro, and the flagship Lenovo Legion 7. All eyes are on the Legion 7, however, as it comes with a newer display and the latest innards. Unlike its previous model, this 2021 version comes with a bigger, faster, and higher resolution screen. Its 16-inch IPS display touts a 2560 x 1600 resolution,165Hz refresh rate, HDR 400, and Nvidia G-Sync. That’s certainly an upgrade from 2020’s 15.6-inch,1080p,144Hz one. Not to be outdone, the internal components get a proper update as well. This year’s Lenovo 7 comes with AMD Ryze 5000 chips and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 GPUs. That’s while keeping things around the same price point as last year’s. Expect to see it on the shelves around June 2021. Is this the world’s thinnest gaming laptop? Though lofty claims of being the world’s thinnest gaming laptop are yet to be substantiated, the MSI Stealth 15M is certainly a solid contender for the title. Being only 0.63-inch thick and 3.73 lbs light means that it’s thinner and lighter than both the MacBook Pro 16-inch and the Dell XPS 15. That’s while packing 11th-gen Intel Core chips and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 graphics – the highest configuration gets you an Intel Core i7-11375H CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Max Q,32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. In fact, it’s one of the first gaming laptops to feature Intel’s 11th-gen H35-Series mobile processors. That’s pretty impressive, especially for a gaming laptop. The display could be better, with MSI keeping things low-key with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. However, even in 2021, a 1080p screen is still plenty sharp for gaming. Now available for pre-order starting at $1,399 (£1,025, AU$1,800), the MSI Stealth 15M won’t start shipping until later this year. Affordable CAN mean sheer power The Asus TUF line is no stranger to affordable great performers. Last year’s Asus TUF A15, for instance, was simply brilliant while keeping things accessible to budget-conscious gamers. Now, it’s back at CES to prove that budget gaming laptops can also deliver brute strength. The new Asus TUF Dash F15 is set to do exactly that, bringing in Intel Tiger Lake processors, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 mobile GPUs, and up to a 240Hz 1080p display without costing a fortune.
