Desktop gaming will always be the pinnacle of the PC gaming experience, but gaming laptops have come a long way in 2017. Some even rival their desktop counterparts in power, design, and affordability.
So if you’re looking to join the growing ranks of laptop gaming adherents, look no further — here’s our list of the best gaming laptops on the market today.
Our pick
Why should you buy this: You want to play the latest games at the highest settings while you’re on the go.
Our Score
The best
Acer Predator 17 G9-791-79Y3
The Acer Predator 17 isn’t just a great gaming laptop; it’s a great laptop.
$2,599.99 from Acer
$2,547.63 from Amazon
Who’s it for: Gamers who don’t mind spending a little extra to snag the best performance on the market.
How much will it cost: $2,600
Why we picked the Acer Predator 17 X:
A better question than “what is the Acer doing right?” is “what isn’t the Acer doing right?” Its performance, powered by an Intel Core i7-7820HK, 32GB of RAM, and Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics, makes it one of the most powerful gaming laptops you can buy.
With a GTX 1080 graphics card and that monster of a processor, which is unlocked and overclock-ready, the Predator 17X will make short work of just about anything you throw at it. Yes, even Destiny 2 — crank up those detail settings, Guardian.
But it’s not just what’s under the hood that counts. Acer has taken the time to rethink its Predator gaming series, and the new machines it introduced at in 2017 are more impressive than ever. It does look a bit on the conventional side, but Acer supplements its stereotypical matte black and red with a sturdy, spacious layout that includes a full-sized numpad. It’s a more subdued look than the Asus G752, and one that’s sure to please the users who find the Asus too garish.
Like most high-end gaming laptops, the Predator 17X starts at $2,600 for the base model, but for that price you get a system with top-of-the-line hardware, lightning-fast performance, and a rock-solid chassis. That’s why the Predator 17X remains at the top of our list.
Our full review (2016 model)
The best portable gaming laptop
Why should you buy this: You want a gaming powerhouse with MacBook style.
Our Score
The best portable gaming laptop
Razer Blade (2017)
The Razer Blade provides a perfect balance of portability and power, it’s the ultimate ultra-light gaming laptop.
$1,899.99 from Razer
$0.00 from Razer
Who’s it for: Gamers who need something small and light that can still pack a punch.
How much will it cost: Starts at $1,900
Why we picked the Razer Blade:
The Razer Blade offers serious gaming performance in a slim package. The newest version packs an Intel Core i7-7700HQ in with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, despite the system’s slim profile.
The system bolsters its slim design with an attractive, matte black exterior. The result is a system that looks a lot like the black MacBooks of yore (that’s a compliment). With its slick design and impressive, Chroma-lit keyboard and trackpad, it stands out in the crowd.
And Razer packs in performance to match. The GTX 1060 is incredibly quick, roughly equivalent to the outgoing GTX 980M. Though there are faster laptops, there are very few of similar size with similar hardware. The Alienware 13 is the most obvious alternative, but it’s not as slick as the Razer Blade.
Though it has many strengths, the Blade does fall victim to the limitations of its own footprint. It runs hotter and louder than competitors, and it can’t be had with an optional GTX 1070 or 1080 graphics chip. The price is also high, starting at $1,900 for a model with a 256GB hard drive.
Our full review
The best cheap gaming laptop
Why should you buy this: It provides useable gaming performance for less than $1,000.
The best cheap gaming laptop
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming Laptop (Late 2017)
Fast and affordable, the Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming is a great do-it-all PC.
$999.99 from Dell
Who’s it for: Students, gamers, anyone who wants a gaming laptop but doesn’t want to break the bank.
How much will it cost: Starts at $750
Why we picked the Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming :
This budget-friendly laptop may not seem like a gaming powerhouse, but as one of the cheapest systems with a dedicated GPU, it can’t be ignored. It’s more modest than the other systems here, coming standard with an Intel Core i5-7300HQ, 8GB of RAM, and a GTX 1050, but that doesn’t stop it from playing most games at reasonable frame rates. Faster models are available with a GTX 1050 Ti or GTX 1060, if you’re willing to spend a few hundred more.
Our review unit, which had a GTX 1050 Ti, hit 44 frames per second while running Battlefield 1 on ultra at 1080p. Even running Deux Ex: Mankind Divided at ultra, the frame rate holds at around 26 FPS, a very playable score which rises to considerably with the settings turned down a bit. Both games are easily playable at medium to high settings and 1080p resolution.
The Inspiron 15 Gaming does look like a budget system. Apart from the aesthetic, which is more toned down than the other systems, the plastic parts betray its budget-friendly status. The screen’s bezel bends, as does the system’s lower chassis. Plus, it just doesn’t feel as sturdy as the other systems, although the slim build is a boon.
But at just $750 to start, it’s easily the cheapest system on this list, and much less expensive than other laptops that can handle modern games.
Our full review
How we test
When we test a laptop, particularly a gaming laptop, we leave no spec un-tested. Starting from look-and-feel and running all the way through individual hardware tests, laptops that enter our lab don’t leave until they’re put through their paces in every conceivable way.
On top of formal testing, we spend a lot of time with the laptops that come through out offices. We’ll use them for everyday work and web browsing, in hopes of catching any elusive issues that evaded our earlier testing. For more information on how we test laptops, you can read a full run-down over here.
What to expect out of a gaming laptop
Gaming laptops have come a long way in the last couple years. While some are still the big LED-clad behemoths we’ve come to know and love, it’s become easier and easier for manufacturers to cram some serious performance into small packages. Just look at the Razer Blade, or even the Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming. They’re no bigger than other non-gaming laptops, but they’re able to deliver some seriously impressive performance.
That said, can we expect desktop-level performance out of a notebook? Well, almost. The best gaming laptops on the market come close, but there are a few areas that desktops still have an edge.
First up, desktop gaming rigs are bigger, so they’re more spacious inside. That extra space is important for heat diffusion. Even the most high-efficiency gaming laptop will still have some issues when it comes to heat accumulation. Inside a laptop’s chassis, everything is crammed together so tight there isn’t much manufacturers can do to reduce heat, other than just pump it out as fast as possible.
Similarly, gaming desktops will almost always have better processors because they don’t need to worry about battery life or the aforementioned heat issue. They can suck down as much power as they need to run those 4.0 GHz octa-core processors without batting an eye. In the process, they’ll generate a massive amount of heat which is easily dispersed with air cooling.
So, when it comes to performance, a great gaming laptop will come close to a desktop gaming experience in all but those areas. It’s going to run hotter, and it’s going to run a little slower. The desktop is faster, but if you only want a laptop, you can make it work.
What about Freesync and G-Sync?
When your GPU is rendering a game, it sends that information to your monitor, which normally can’t communicate with the GPU itself. When a game’s performance dips, your monitor’s refresh rate – the rate at which it displays frames – doesn’t change. That results in screen-tearing — your game looks like it’s coming apart. Options like V-Sync attempt to mitigate that by locking your frame rate to your monitor’s refresh rate (usually 60Hz), but it does so blindly, without communicating with your video card.
With G-Sync and Freesync, your video card communicates directly with your display, keeping things nice and buttery smooth, even when your frame rate starts to chug. If your frame rate goes down, your refresh rate goes down to match, which keeps your screen from tearing and provides an overall better gaming experience. G-Sync is the Nvidia option, while Freesync is the AMD option, but they do essentially the same thing.
It’s a complex issue, and if you’re curious about the nuts and bolts of frame rate versus refresh rate, and how G-Sync and Freesync work in practice, check out our rundown here.