CES 2019 saw the announcement of Nvidia’s latest RTX mobile graphics, which was flanked by many gaming laptop reveals from MSI, Alienware, Acer, and more. Naturally, each company talks up its own set of new features and design elements, leaving consumers with a lot to choose from when heading to the stores this year. Not to worry, as we’ve sorted through the long list of new gaming laptops and have picked out the best from the rest. Here are our picks for the best gaming laptops of CES 2019.
Alienware Area-51m
Joel Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Leading the pack is the Alienware Area-51m. With the ability to freely swap out both the processor and the graphics card, this gaming laptop is hard to beat. Through the graphics cards are proprietary, upgrading is as easy as taking off the bottom panel (which is mapped with cables and screw types) and heading inside the laptop.
The Alienware Area-51m is also sporting a desktop-grade processor, with options for up the Intel Core i9 9900k and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 graphics making it truly powerful.
And just look at it. High-end gaming laptops like the Area-51m can be unappealing, but this new model looks like a prop from a sci-fi movie. It even has a ring of Tron-like customizable lighting on the back. The Alienware Area-51m will be available on January 21 for prices starting at $2,549. Lower priced configurations will be coming later.
Check out our Alienware Area-51m hands on review.
MSI GS75 Stealth
Next up is the MSI GS75 Stealth. Sporting a thin bezel 17.3-inch 144Hz display, and a thickness of less than 0.75 inches, it is smaller than most 17-inch gaming laptops. What is even more impressive, is that MSI managed to pack the powerful Intel Core i7 series CPUs and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 graphics on board, as well as options for up to three M.2 SSD storage drives.
It looks sleek, too, with lush gold hinges made out of a light aluminum alloy. Cooling is also improved, coming with seven copper heat pipes and two dedicated fans on board. Pricing and availability were not shared at CES.
Acer Predator Triton 900
Alongside the Asus ROG mothership, the Acer Predator Triton 900 is unique, as it is fully convertible 2-in-1 designed for gamers, something we first saw at CES 2019. Sporting an “Ezel Aero Hinge,” it can be switched into four modes— laptop, display mode, easel mode, and a mode with the screen flipped to the reverse.
That’s impressive on its own, but so is the power under the hood. Inside, it packs in Intel’s 8th generation Intel Core i7 CPU, an NVMe PCIe SSDs in RAID0 configuration, up to 32GB of DDR4 memory, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 GPU. It even has a 17-inch 4K IPS display with Nvidia’s G-Sync technology. Availability is set for March with pricing that starts at $4,000.
Asus ROG G703
Next on the list is the Asus ROG G703. Sporting HyperDrive Extreme storage, this laptop lets you combine three SSDs in RAID 0 configuration for speedy read rates of up to 8,700MBs. That’s the fastest speeds yet in a gaming laptop. It also packs in 8th generation Intel Core processors and comes with an option for the overclocked Intel Core i9-8950HK processor for speeds of up to 4.86GHz. Elsewhere, you’ll feel right at home when gaming with its 17-inch screen with 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time. Pricing and availability were not announced at the time of writing.
Razer Blade Advanced Model
We really loved the Razer Blade 15 in 2018, and the Razer Blade Advanced is a step up from last year’s model. Naturally, it now comes with options for the GeForce RTX 2060, GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, or GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q GPUs. It is nearly identical to last year’s model on the outside, but now packs a Windows Hello camera and options for an FHD 144Hz display or a 60Hz 4K touch panel.
There are some sacrifices, however, as it downgrades the storage a bit, coming with Single Storage SSD, vs Dual Storage on the base model. Other new elements include Per Key Chrome lighting and a slightly thinner profile of just 0.70 inches vs 0.78 inches from last year’s model. Availability is set for January 29 with prices starting at $2,300.
Editors’ Recommendations
- Alienware’s thin m17 and m15 gaming laptops pack Nvidia RTX 20-series GPUs
- Asus’ ROG Mothership is like a Surface Pro on steroids, and it’s built for games
- Acer unleashes the beast with 2-in-1 Triton 900 packing RTX 2080 GPU
- MSI revamps gaming laptops with face-melting Nvidia RTX 20-series GPUs
- Asus gets tough on gaming with new Nvidia RTX and AMD Ryzen gaming laptops