Best Budget Gaming Laptop Tom's Hardware
Best Gaming Laptops of 2022
Included in this guide:
The best gaming laptops come in all shapes and sizes, for different needs and budgets. Considering while a tricked out $five,000-plus model with the highest-end graphics and best display might give yous the best gaming laptop experience, well-nigh of usa can't afford a rig like that. Our picks here are often high-end models (nosotros're an enthusiast site, afterward all), merely nearly come in a variety of configurations at diverse toll points.
Thankfully, there are more gaming laptop options at present than ever, from budget-friendly to desktop replacements. Some come with full-size Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics cards, while others go for the more than efficient Max-Q designs that enable thinner chassis and (sometimes) quieter fans.
While many of the best gaming laptops come with a 1080p display and high refresh rates, some include 4K screens, and then you can pick between fidelity and resolution. Several gaming laptop go equally fast as 360 Hz.
At that place is more choice than e'er in components, too. While Intel is still a popular pick, AMD'southward Ryzen processors are condign more than common, though the majority of notebooks in full general even so use Intel. On the GPU side, Nvidia's RTX GPUs are in far more laptops, though AMD is slowly starting to pair its own graphics cards with hits CPUs for what it calls an "AMD Reward."
The latest technologies in processors include Intel's 12th Gen "Alder Lake" processors, which use a hybrid design with Operation and Efficient cores, and AMD's Ryzen 5000 CPUs. But like desktops, annihilation with the latest graphics can still be hard to come by right now, thanks to a global components shortage.
Like a lot of other tech, if may be hard to find the all-time gaming laptops right now. Once you've washed your research, information technology may take some time to find exactly what you want in stock.
To help you find the best gaming laptop today, nosotros've compiled a list of the best models nosotros've tested and reviewed recently. For much more on how to narrow down your list of all-time gaming laptop considerations, check out our best gaming laptop buyer'due south guide. Only here are a few quick tips to get you lot started downwardly the road to the correct portable gaming rig for you lot.
While many gamers may go to desktops to get the virtually performance for their coin, try lugging a tower, monitor and keyboard around in your backpack. When yous need a powerful rig you lot can accept with yous, in that location's no substitute for a gaming laptop.
The picks on this list should be ready to run Windows xi, if it didn't come preinstalled already.
- Focus on the GPU: Nigh games are dependent on the GPU, and those aren't upgradeable. If you splurge on a powerful GPU now, you'll exist gaming comfortably for a few years.
- You lot can upgrade some parts later: While the all-time CPUs for gaming and GPUs are nigh e'er soldered downward, near gaming laptops permit y'all supplant the RAM and storage, so you can buy cheaper now and add more than retention and a bigger hard drive or SSD downwards the road.
- Battery life will probably be bad:Very few gaming notebooks get viii hours or more on a accuse, and you need the power supply to get the all-time gaming performance anyway. However, nosotros've seen some stiff times from AMD's Ryzen processors, and Nvidia suggests its improved Optimus engineering may assist turn the tide.
Best gaming laptops at a glance
- Best Overall: MSI GE76 Raider (Core i9-12900HK)
- Best Sparse and Calorie-free: Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model (Belatedly 2021)
- Best Thin and Light (Alternative): Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model
- Best 17-inch: Alienware m17 R4
- All-time Upkeep: Acer Nitro 5 (AMD 2021)
- Souped Up Version, Budget: Acer Nitro 5 (Alternate Configuration)
- All-AMD: Asus ROG Strix G15 Reward Edition
- All-time Esports: Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733
- xvi-inch Esports Option: Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
- Best Dual-Screen: Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE GX551
Best Gaming Laptops You Tin can Buy Today
If you're looking for a laptop with desktop-level ability, the MSI GE76 Raider is well-nigh as close equally you'll get, though you may likewise have to spend a ton of money to get there. Still, with its high-end components similar the Intel Core i9-12900HK and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.
We'd be remiss to point out that the Raider has a big RGB light bar on the front, which, when combined with per-key lighting, makes for quite an effect in the dark (or y'all tin can turn it all of if y'all adopt something a bit less showy).
The 17.3-inch, 1080p display goes up to 360 Hz, which is corking for esports players, but everyone else might want to consider a 1440p or 4K display, depending on bachelor configurations.
We tested this laptop at $three,999, which is enough to brand you lot tear upward when y'all check your bank account. That's an awful lot to spend on a laptop (we imagine DDR5 memory partially brings that price up), but it's also the best performer we've seen recently.
Read:
MSI GE76 Raider Review 
The latest Razer Bract 15 makes some incremental improvements, only they're noticeable and make for a improve feel.
For instance, at that place's a 1080p webcam, which is of peachy importance when and then many people piece of work from abode or in a hybrid surround. There are likewise more than configurations with a QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution, which is a nice bump up from 1080p.
We tested the Blade with an Intel Core i7-11800H and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, which proved potent for gaming operation. It wasn't equally powerful in productivity benchmarks equally some competitors, though for web browsing and other common tasks information technology's more than fine.
Otherwise, you lot go many of the benefits the Blade has always offered: a nice, solid build and plenty of ports. But Razer does charge a premium, and then you lot'll accept to exist willing to pay to be role of its lodge.
Read: Razer Bract fifteen Advanced model review
If you lot desire college specs and are willing to pay more than for a thin and light gaming laptop, the Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model is a strong choice. It has a sleek design that's like shooting fish in a barrel to take with yous anywhere, and has a nice selection of ports if you lot also want to plug in a bunch of peripherals.
While the Zephyrus stops at an RTX 2060, the Bract goes upwards to an Nvidia RTX 2080 Super Max-Q. It also has options for a faster 300 Hz display, which is great for esports.
Instead of a Ryzen bit, Razer has opted for Intel's 10th Gen H-series processors to power the Bract 15. It's not as ability efficient, simply offers strong performance.
Read: Razer Blade xv Advanced Model review
A 17-inch gaming notebook gets into the desktop replacement category, and that's exactly what the Alienware m17 R4 is. At its top-end configurations, like how we reviewed it, it can go very pricey, but you also become the pinnacle-end Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU with 165W TGP. There are options for 4K or our 1920 x 1080 360Hz option for esports aficionados.
Other RTX laptops we've tested to engagement haven't touched the m17 on performance, which eschews Max-Q technologies in favor of the most powerful part you tin pack in a notebook.
It too has a nice, snappy RGB keyboard and the design, at 0.87 inches, is still fairly stealthy for a notebook packing this much performance.
Read: Alienware m17 R4 review
The Acer Nitro 5 is the best gaming laptop for those on a tight budget. For the price, you'll get a neat value on entry level performance. While you'll sacrifice a bright display, the keyboard is comfy and you even get a decent webcam.
Our review unit had an AMD Ryzen 5 4600U paired with an Nvidia GeForce 1650. We've seen a few Ryzen-based gaming laptops get better than expected battery life, and the Nitro 5 lasted over 11 hours.
If you lot're handy, there's plenty of room for upgrading (and you'll desire to consider it downwardly the line with just 256GB of storage in our review unit), merely for $700, y'all're getting a lot for the money.
Read: Acer Nitro 5 (AMD) review
Since we reviewed the Acer Nitro 5 above, the visitor has released more than models with updated specs. The about recent one we reviewed uses a Ryzen vii 5800U and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, assuasive for stronger performance and ray tracing in select games.
This model too boasts a 1440p display at 165 Hz, far above the 1080p you lot discover in the budget version. This one notwithstanding looks clunky, however, and you pay for the parts with a $1,699 price tag.
Acer is yet selling the Nitro 5 in budget configurations — this is a newer one that adds on to the lineup with a more premium configuration. It falls a bit out of the budget category at this bespeak, but we constitute that the additions were quite good.
Read:
Acer Nitro 5 review 
The Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition is the first laptop under AMD's Reward program, which pairs the company'due south CPUs and GPUs in premium designs meant to employ solid screens and be built for comfortable gaming. The Strix delivers on several of those points by offering stiff operation through the Ryzen ix 5900Hz, Radeon RX 6800M and SmartShift technology to move power betwixt the ii.
The laptop as well offers powerful sound with Dolby Atmos back up, and we found information technology to be reasonably cool at most touchpoints, even while gaming. It also lasts a long time on bombardment when you aren't gaming.
At that place are a few concerns of note, including the complete lack of a webcam, and the display, while decent, could be brighter. Only for those all in on AMD and laptops with copious amounts of RGB lighting, this i's worth a look.
Read: Asus ROG Strix G15 Reward Edition review
If you want to play esports like a professional person, you'll want a laptop with the fastest screen you lot tin find. The Asus ROG Strix Scar G733 offers a 360 Hz refresh charge per unit on its FHD screen and has top-end components to power esports titles to get to frame rates that can actually utilise it.
The design feels premium but has an interesting mix of night materials and clear plastic. It'south reminiscent of both a hot rod car and a 90'south MP3 actor, which might plough some people off.
Only the comfortable keyboard, strong overall operation and bassy sound all contribute to a strong gaming experience, even if you don't similar seeing the inside of your laptop.
Read: Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733 review
If yous're willing to sacrifice your refresh charge per unit for higher resolution, the Lenovo Legion v Pro is one to check out. While some other gaming notebooks opt for 300 Hz, the Legion's 165 Hz, 2560 x 1600 screen is a stunner in its own right. It as well has a 16:x aspect ratio, which nosotros capeesh for productivity use.
Our review unit came with a Ryzen 7 5800H and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, which together offered competitive functioning beyond our suite of gaming benchmarks. Our arrangement also included 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.
We were also impressed with this laptop's keyboard, which seems to have benefitted from the excellence of Lenovo'south business concern-oriented ThinkPads.
The system is, nevertheless, a scrap thick. If yous don't want to bargain with bulk, yous may want to consider other options on this list.
Read: Lenovo Legion 5 Pro review
Asus' latest ROG Zephyrus Duo uses AMD'due south top-end RYzen nine 5900HX paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 for powerful results, while using a second screen that lifts upwardly to provide more ventilation to better cooling.
The two displays are both vivid and colorful, and at a bit over 4 hours and 52 minutes on our bombardment test, it'southward endurance is good (for a gaming notebook, anyway).
The keyboard and mouse are in an awkward position, like most dual-screen notebooks on the market (most people will likely utilize an external mouse for gaming). Then y'all'll have to decide if that 2nd screen — which is great for chat programs, gaming guides or music apps — is worth a more difficult typing experience.
Read:
Asus ROG Zephyrus Do 15 SE GX551 reviewBest Gaming Laptops Compared
| *Up to | CPU | GPU | RAM | Storage | Display (inches) | Weight (Ibs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSI GE76 Raider | Cadre i9-11980HK* | RTX 3080 | 32GB* | 1TB* | 15.six, 1080p, 300Hz | five.three |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model (Late 2021) | Intel Core i7-11800H | RTX 3070 | 16GB* | 1TB* | 15.6, 1440p, 240Hz | iv.4 |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model | Core i7-10875H* | RTX 2080 Super Max-Q | 16GB | 1TB* | xv.6, 1080p, 300Hz | 4.7 |
| Alienware m17 R4 | Core i9-10980HK* | RTX 3080 | 32GB | 2x 1TB RAID 0 | 17.3, 2160p, 360Hz | 6.vi |
| Acer Nitro 5 | Ryzen v 4600U | GTX 1650 | 8GB | 256GB* | 15.half-dozen, 1080p, 60Hz | five.3 |
| Acer Nitro 5 (Alternating Config) | Ryzen seven 5800U | RTX 3070 | 16GB | 1TB | 15.vi, 1440p, 165Hz | iv.ix |
| Asus ROG G15 Advantage Edition | Ryzen 9 5900HX | RX 6800M | 16GB | 512GB | 15.vi, 1080p, 300Hz | 6.vi |
| Asus ROG Strix 17 G733 | Ryzen 9 5900HX | RTX 3080 | 32GB | 2x 1TB | 17.3, 1080p, 360Hz | five.9 |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro | Ryzen ix 5900HX | RTX 3087 | 16GB | 512GB | fifteen.6,1600p, 165Hz | 5.4 |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE GX551 | Ryzen 9 5900HX | RTX 3080 | 32GB | 2x 1TB RAID0 | xv.half-dozen, 2160p, 300Hz | 5.3 |
Discounts on the Best Gaming Laptops
Whether y'all're shopping for one of the all-time gaming laptops or another model that didn't quite make our list, you may find some savings by checking out our lists of Dell coupon codes, HP coupon codes, Lenovo coupon codes, Razer promo codes or Newegg promo codes.
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