Pros: Powerful graphics at an affordable price, full keyboard, doesn't get too hot
Cons: Dull screen, heavy body
The Acer Nitro 5 is one of the most affordable ways to buy an Nvidia RTX 40-series graphics card, which are currently the best available right now. If you pick the right configuration, you can snag a Nitro 5 with an RTX 4050 GPU, an Intel i5 CPU, and 512GB of solid state storage for under $850 — that's great value.
Whether you buy the Nitro 5 with an Nvidia RTX 40-series card or an older 30-series, you'll be able to play most modern and retro games with fantastic visuals for at least the next few years. Well-built fans and vents keep the laptop cool while you're playing, and it comes with a special app called NitroSense that lets you modify exactly how fast the fans go.
The Nitro 5's worst qualities come with its design. At over six pounds it's quite heavy, and the 230W charger is bulky too. In my time using the Nitro 5, I've also found its 144Hz screen horribly dull, and the battery life is only middling.
But for pure gaming value, it's hard to beat the Nitro 5's combination of power and low price. It's easily one of the best gaming laptops you can get on a budget, especially if you plan to keep it connected to a brighter external monitor.
Check out our full Acer Nitro 5 laptop review.
Pros: Fantastic graphics and computing power, loads of ports, full-size keyboard with mechanical option
Cons: Incredibly heavy, low battery life when gaming
No matter how high your budget is, when it comes to prebuilt gaming laptops, it's hard to beat the Alienware m18. Ranging in price from about $2,000 to $5,000 depending on configuration, the m18 features top-of-the-line graphics and computing power.
Like other Dell products, the Alienware m18 offers a massive amount of customization. You can buy an m18 with Intel or AMD CPUs, any RTX 40-series GPU, and up to 8TB of solid state storage. You can even pick between a 165Hz or a phenomenally fast 480Hz refresh rate screen, and between a membrane or mechanical keyboard. You choose exactly how much you want to spend, and how powerful your laptop will be.
No matter what parts you pick, you're guaranteed to get a high-res FHD+ or QHD+ 18-inch screen, an HD webcam, and lots of RGB lighting. Every model comes with loads of ports — three USB 3.2 ports and three USB-C ports, alongside the standard Ethernet, HDMI, and headphone jack. There's also a great honeycomb design for the fan vents, located right above the keyboard.
The Alienware m18's biggest downside is its massive size and weight — it's over eight pounds! Despite this size, the battery still only lasts for about four hours, which is typical for a gaming laptop. If you're playing games, that battery will drain even faster. This means that the m18 is definitely a laptop you'll want to keep stationary and connected to its charger most of the time, and especially while you're gaming.
If you're looking for a high-end laptop that offers similar power but a lighter frame, consider the m18's sibling, the Alienware x16. It has a slightly weaker CPU, but packs the same graphical power into a smaller package.
Pros: Slim and lightweight, fast CPU
Cons: Can be hot and loud
There are few gaming laptops more portable than Asus' ROG Zephyrus series. And although the G14 is the series' entry-level option, the new 2023 model combines a lightweight build with high-end gaming power.
Every version of the ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023) has an Nvidia RTX 40-series GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a bright 165Hz screen. Most include a fast AMD Ryzen 9 CPU and a terabyte of solid state storage. And they've all got an amazingly bright screen, and a sleek look with RGB lighting — some models even have a feature called "AniMe Matrix" that lets you design and run short animations on the laptop's casing.
The typical G14 laptop only weighs about 3.5 pounds, and when it's closed, the laptop is less than an inch thick. This makes it wonderfully easy to carry around, whether to work, class, or a friend's house. It's also got solid battery life: During normal use, you should expect the laptop to last for upwards of four hours on a single charge. And if you turn the brightness down and turn on Battery Saver mode, it can last for over seven hours.
The G14 does have its downsides, though. It's more expensive than other slim laptops for one, although it does come with three free months of Xbox Game Pass. Asus also still offers an older version of the G14 that retails for about $1,300, but only comes with an RTX 20-series GPU.
I also had complaints about the G14's thermals. While you're running intensive apps — whether games or visual design programs like Photoshop — expect the G14 to get hot, and for the fans to run loudly. Try to keep the laptop off cloth surfaces, like blankets.
Read our Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023) review.
Pros: Superior battery life, durable build, great performance on a budget
Cons: Dim display, CPU sometimes struggles
The dark horse of Asus' gaming lineup, the Asus TUF A15 is one of the best gaming laptops for anyone who needs a long-lasting battery. TUF laptops are also built with military-grade shock, vibration, and dirt resistance. This makes it great for gamers that are seeking durability and longevity above all else.
The build quality isn't the TUF's only strength. Equipped with a powerful 90WHrs battery, most tests see the 2023 TUF lasting upwards of nine hours on a single charge. When it comes to battery life, that's pretty much the best you can buy.
The TUF A15 doesn't slack in the graphics department either. It's equipped with an NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU, which is the weakest of the 40-series, but still powerful enough to smoothly run nearly any game. Combine that with a terabyte of solid state storage, and the TUF A15 is a sturdy and versatile gaming machine.
But despite its powerful GPU, the CPU — an AMD Ryzen 7 — occasionally struggles to keep up. This means that games and apps may lag, especially if you're multitasking.
The screen also has its flaws. It's got less than 300 nits of brightness, meaning it's dimmer than other laptops. And it's only got a refresh rate of 144Hz, which is less than the typical standard of 165Hz. Consider connecting it to an external monitor for the best visuals.
How much should I expect to spend on a gaming laptop?
A "budget" gaming laptop will retail for around $1,000 to $1,400, but you should expect a lower amount of storage space, less powerful CPUs, and dimmer screens. The best gaming laptops that excel in all areas — graphics, display, processing power, storage, and more — will likely range from $2,000 to $3,000 in price. And a gaming laptop that goes above and beyond, with a massive amount of storage and cutting edge hardware, will cost even more than that.
Budget gaming laptops will be powerful enough for most users, and a standard gaming laptop — like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, for example — should be perfect for pretty much anyone, with hardware powerful enough to last for years. You'll see diminishing returns past that point.
On the whole, the best gaming laptops tend to be more expensive than regular laptops, but less expensive than the gaming PC desktops.
Is it better to buy a gaming laptop with Nvidia or AMD graphics?
When it comes to graphics cards, the two titans are Nvidia and AMD. Most of the best gaming laptops — especially the more expensive ones — only offer Nvidia RTX graphics. But it's not uncommon to find models with AMD Radeon GPUs.
Both brands have their upsides. Nvidia GPUs tend to be more powerful, and can better handle advanced graphical features like raytracing. AMD GPUs aren't as strong, but tend to be less expensive.
The laptops in this guide all use Nvidia RTX graphics. In general, we recommend sticking with Nvidia RTX graphics. They perform better, and if you're just buying a pre-built laptop (like any of the laptops in this guide), you likely won't notice the price increase.
Read our AMD vs. Nvidia comparison to learn more about how the two brands stack up.
What does refresh rate mean?
Every computer monitor has a specific refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz). This is a measure of how many times per second the screen "refreshes," or displays an entirely new image. This means that the higher a monitor's refresh rate, the faster it can update to show you the next frame of a game, movie, or even just your mouse moving.
The industry standard for refresh rates on high quality gaming monitors is 165Hz, meaning that the screen will update 165 times per second. But if you shell out some money, it's not hard to find monitors at 360Hz or higher.
Just note that even if you have a high refresh rate, games and movies you play still won't move any faster than their individual frame rate. So on a 165Hz monitor, a game running at 60 frames per second will still only update 60 times every second.
Are gaming laptops weaker than gaming desktops?
Modern gaming laptops are powerful, and can accomplish pretty much anything you'd want. But dollar-for-dollar, gaming desktops are still more powerful.
The biggest reason for this is that gaming laptops and desktops use different types of CPUs and GPUs. Even if a laptop and desktop both say they have an RTX 4090 graphics card, for example, the laptop's card is weaker because it's a "mobile" graphics card. Mobile hardware is smaller and slower than the standard hardware you'd find in a desktop.
When you buy a gaming laptop, you're mostly paying for portability. In every other aspect, gaming desktops will still outclass laptops. This means that gaming desktops are the best choice for consistent 4K or 8K gaming, virtual reality, and intensive video editing.
For more details, check out our gaming laptop vs. desktop guide.
Can I build my own gaming laptop?
With enough effort, you can build anything. But compared to building a gaming desktop, trying to build a laptop is almost certainly a waste of time and money.
It's relatively simple to build a gaming desktop since desktop parts are easy to buy online, and it doesn't take much effort to slot them into the right place. But laptops have their own specially designed "mobile" components that are more difficult and expensive to buy, let alone check for compatibility issues.
If you want a gaming laptop, buy it prebuilt. You're guaranteed to get great (or at least stable) performance, and it'll save you a world of frustration.
Our guide to the best gaming laptops was written using a combination of hands-on laptop testing, research, and previous experience with gaming laptops.
When reviewing, we evaluate laptops across a number of categories, including price, build quality, graphical power, multitasking performance, and more. It's not good enough for the best gaming laptops to have a good GPU — they need to excel in every other important area, too. We keep a close eye on the industry and reevaluate our buying guides at least twice per year, revising our recommendations as needed.
We also cross-reference our opinions and findings with reviews from other reputable tech websites to see if our experiences were typical. This lets us give you, the reader, the most well-rounded recommendations possible.
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