The 6 Best Gaming Laptops for Any Quest – Alienware 16X Aurora for $1,970. Alienware has lost some focus with its gaming laptops recently, but its latest redesign feels like a return to form. The Alienware 16X Aurora (7/10, WIRED Recommends) stands in the middle of the lineup, striving to give the appropriate blend of performance, premium features, and pricing. The 6 Best Gaming Laptops for Any Quest
At its present pricing, it nails that walk across the tightrope. Though it isn’t showy, the design is simple yet elegant. And while there are cheaper methods to attain RTX 5060-level performance, the bright, color-accurate IPS display is a wonderful upgrade, as is the premium touchpad. All in all, the Alienware 16X Aurora ended up being my favorite Alienware gaming laptop in years. It’s too expensive at retail price, so wait for a reduction on this one.
MSI Titan 18 HX for $5,200: Power. It’s what PC gamers want most, right? Well, if that’s you, and you don’t have a budget, purchase the MSI Titan 18 HX (7/10, WIRED Recommends). It sets the definition for “large and in charge.” This laptop is blinged up with plenty of innovative technologies like a mechanical keyboard, an undetectable haptic-feedback touchpad, and plenty of RGB lights. The touchpad wasn’t my favorite, but typing and gaming on the mechanical keyboard is an utter joy. The 6 Best Gaming Laptops for Any Quest
There are a couple additional 18-inch laptops to consider, such the redesigned Alienware 18 Area-51 or the Razer Blade 18. But the stunning 4K+ mini-LED display is something you can’t get on another 18-inch laptop. titles look amazing on it, and thanks to the RTX 5090, you can play AAA titles at that native resolution with decent frame rates. This MSI is a beast of a laptop, so don’t try to carry it with you on a work trip. Trust me.
Asus ROG Z13 for $2,300: There’s nothing else quite like the ROG Flow Z13 (7/10, WIRED Recommends). It’s a 2-in-1 laptop, not resembling the Surface Pro, but this one’s built particularly for gaming. That might sound like a contradiction—or maybe just a lousy idea. But remarkably, the ROG Flow Z13 has formed a new product category in gaming over the past few years, and continues to exist alone in it. By positioning all the components behind the screen instead of behind the keyboard, the ROG Flow Z13 channels all that heated air away from your hands. That’s always an issue with gaming laptops, no matter how loud or heavy they are. And yet, with the ROG Flow Z13, the keyboard always stays fully cool. This year’s model features an exciting new CPU, too: the AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395, which has a large integrated graphics chip onboard that’s even quicker than discrete graphics like the RTX 4060. In my testing, I was quite satisfied with the system’s performance in games, especially given how quiet it stays and how long the battery life is. It’s pricey, but it’s also wonderfully unique.
What Makes a Great Gaming Laptop?
Picking the best gaming laptop can be a tricky balance. The raw power you generally see in gaming computers consumes a lot of energy, and when you put that in a laptop, it can drain the battery fast. Similarly, the ultrafast refresh rates in gaming monitors can contribute to significantly higher power drain. If you expect to have your laptop plugged in most of the time, you can lean toward more powerful technology. If you wish to play on the battery more, balancing power with efficiency should be a priority. The 6 Best Gaming Laptops for Any Quest
Size is also an issue to consider. When you’re gaming at home, you might want the largest, brightest screen you can get, but when you have to carry that screen along, the bulk and weight might be a (very literal) drag. If you plan to travel with your laptop, you might want to consider about how much bulk you’re ready to tote around.
No matter what, you can anticipate to make some concessions that aren’t as prevalent with more typical laptops. It’s not unusual for a gaming laptop to survive fewer than two hours when you start playing games on it. And unless you have a lot of (typically costly) power under the hood, you might not be able to play some recent AAA games at their highest level the way you would on a desktop without spending a little time tweaking with the game’s visual settings.
Specs to Look for in a Gaming Laptop
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with specs and statistics when you’re shopping for a gaming laptop, but there are a few crucial specs you can focus on to get the greatest value for your dollars. For further help with all the many specifications on offer, check out our How to Buy a Laptop guide. The 6 Best Gaming Laptops for Any Quest
RAM: Aim for a system with at least 16 GB of RAM. While 8 GB of RAM is still workable for individuals who play less demanding games or have little desire for beautiful graphics, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one on offer these days. The new minimum is 16 GB of RAM, and if you expect to play new AAA games, stepping up to 32 GB of RAM is a pretty smart idea. The speed of your RAM can also be an issue. Currently, DDR5 is the best you’ll find, but you’ll start to see DDR6 replacing it over the following several years.
CPU: When you want the fastest processor, newer is usually better. Intel is now on its 14th generation of gaming CPUs, and AMD Ryzen is on the 8000 series. If you want to delve into the nitty-gritty, CPU benchmarks can help you get a feel of how powerful a processor is, but the best indicator is real-world testing (which we do on every laptop we feature). Soon, we’ll be getting the latest CPUs from AMD and Intel, which were unveiled at CES, and should be available over the following months.
Discrete GPU: As with the CPU, there are a number different models out there that can get overwhelming to keep track of. Make sure whichever gaming laptop you buy has a discrete GPU—that means the graphics card is independent from the CPU. These days, Nvidia is the major option, whether that’s the previous-gen RTX 40-series GPUs or the brand-new 50-series. You’ll be able to find a few gaming laptops with AMD GPUs out there, competing with its Radeon 7000 generation. These will often share identical names to their desktop counterparts, although most are technically running the “Laptop” version of the GPU, such as the RTX 5090 or 5080. Again, real-world testing is the best predictor of performance.
Storage: Most laptops feature solid-state storage nowadays, which are very quick and reduce load times dramatically from the days of hard drives. titles may get enormous, so we’d recommend at least a 1-TB internal drive, though if you can swing for 2 TB, you’ll have a lot more storage for many AAA titles. Fortunately, many gaming laptops still let you install more internal storage, so you may be able to extend that later for less money.
Display: Most gaming laptop screens are in a 16:10 aspect ratio and start with a resolution of at least 1920 x 1200 with at least a 120-Hz refresh rate. You want something that matches the performance of the laptop’s GPU and the types of games you play. Competitive multiplayer players will desire a greater refresh rate, while single-player gamers will benefit more from higher resolutions. There’s even next-gen display technology available, such mini-LED or OLED (even 3D!) screens that provide amazing HDR graphics and improved response times.
Which Laptop Brand Is Best for Gaming Laptops?
All of the main laptop manufacturers have gaming sub-brands these days. Just to mention a few, Lenovo has Legion, Asus has ROG, Acer has Predator and Nitro, and Dell has Alienware. HP formerly marketed the Victus and Omen brands but will now sell under its HyperX sub-brand starting this year. These are a wonderful place to start, especially if you’re searching for something more budget-friendly.
Asus has the most full-featured lineup, however, spanning high-powered juggernauts to elegant, small models. Asus also offers some of the cheapest models with its TUF brand and several hyper-portable choices in the ROG Flow range. MSI is another significant brand, with hundreds of models under various titles suggesting price and performance: Titan, Raider, Stealth, and Crosshair.
Beyond these sub-brands, let’s not forget about Razer. The brand has established its reputation for providing the most premium and well-built gaming laptops, sometimes referred to as the MacBook of gaming laptops. You will, however, find dozens of obscure companies if you go shopping on Amazon for gaming laptops. Most are easy to write off based on specs alone, as they rarely even contain a dedicated GPU. Avoid these at all costs, no matter how enticing the price is.
How Much Should I Spend on a Gaming Laptop?
For years, I didn’t recommend spending under $1,000 on a gaming laptop. Today, there are a few solid possibilities though. As you can see from our recommendations above (and from our list of the best affordable gaming laptops), there are a few outstanding options under $1,000 thanks to some great deals. You can obtain RTX 5050 laptops for cheaper, but be wary, as some severe concessions can be taken on these budget-minded computers.
On the other hand, you may pay up to $5,000 on a top-tier model, featuring the latest RTX 5090 and tons of high-end features and specs. It’s also sensible to buy a previous-gen gaming laptop with an RTX 40-series GPU onboard if you’re constrained for budget, though I wouldn’t buy anything older than that.
What Size Gaming Laptop Should You Buy?
Gaming laptops typically come in three screen sizes: 14-inch, 16-inch, and 18-inch. There are other 15.6-inch displays with an old-school 16:9 aspect ratio, such as the Lenovo LOQ 15 described above. The contrast between these three sizes is very substantial, both in terms of overall footprint and portability. Most individuals should choose a 16-inch gaming laptop, which tends to be the sweet spot. Many 16-inch gaming laptops still provide you the complete spectrum of performance, up to the latest CPUs and GPUs (including the RTX 5090), and even come with a larger choice of display options, including OLED. Eighteen-inch gaming laptops tend to be gargantuan—not the kind of machine you want to move about much. The larger screen is useful if you don’t ever intend to connect it to an external display or leave your home with it.
Meanwhile, 14-inch gaming laptops have become popular over the past several years, and they perform best as a hybrid device. They tend to be sleek and minimalist, downplaying the gaming image for something more professional and buttoned-up. GPU options tend to be more limited at this size, but you may still get some surprisingly excellent performance out of small laptops, depending on the setup. They tend to get better battery life, too.
Is OLED on Gaming Laptops Worth It?
In a word, yeah. OLED has a variety of perks for PC gaming. The increased contrast of OLED allows the panel to excel in HDR performance. HDR really brings games to life, lightening up lighting and deepening shadows. Now, it should be stated that the current OLED panels being used on gaming laptops aren’t as bright as the finest OLED gaming displays, which can attain over 1,000 nits of peak HDR brightness. But you still get the HDR impression with the brightness on offer on these OLED gaming laptops.
We’re seeing OLED accessible for both 14-inch and 16-inch gaming laptops, but not on 18-inch laptops just yet. OLED gives aid for more competitive players, giving less input lag than on IPS or Mini-LED. It’s completely worth it. Increasingly, it’s becoming more standard on premium gaming laptops, meaning you won’t always need to make the hard choice between a faster GPU and a sharper screen.
Ideally, you should steer clear from anything older than RTX 40-series GPUs. Because laptops are not upgradeable in terms of graphics, you’ll want to pick something at least reasonably contemporary. Even the RTX 40-series GPUs have been out for a time. So, you’re still potentially getting stuff two years old. You won’t find many RTX 30-series GPUs for much cheaper than 40-series laptops anyway. Here are a couple earlier recommendations that aren’t worth it anymore.
Acer Nitro 5 for $1,098: This is an older machine, and it was a terrific budget gaming laptop for a while. There are several laptops you can purchase around this price, such the Acer Nitro V 16 we recommend above. It has an RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512-GB SSD. Acer Swift X 14 for $1,300: If mobility is your primary goal, the Swift X 14 (6/10, WIRED Review) is a solid option with good performance, owing to its RTX 4070 graphics card and Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU. Unfortunately, it runs very hot, and the fan spins virtually all the time.
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