A gaming laptop fits PC performance into a small, portable package that you can take with you wherever you go, use on the couch, or just keep off your desk. The market is flooded with options with screens that range from 14 to 18 inches, graphics cards that can handle a range of resolutions, and costs that start at less than can creep since people have varied wants and budgets. The greatest gaming laptops sometimes have mechanical keyboards, fast refresh rate displays, and elegant RGB lighting.
In order to assist you in selecting the best gaming laptop for you, we evaluate numerous models every year and compare them using well-known titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Borderlands 3, measuring the color gamut and brightness of their screens, determining battery life and, of course, playing with them. Below, we’ve listed the best gaming laptops for different sizes, price points and use cases.
1.MSI Titan 18 HX
To be honest, the MSI Titan GT77 HX should have everything.which is simply too expensive for the majority of people. Fortunately, there are less expensive versions listed below. There’s plenty to love about this device, including its strong performance, superb 18-inch mini-LED screen, and clicky mechanical keyboard.
While they are powerful, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU and Intel Core i9-14900HX Laptop CPU don’t really offer much of an improvement over earlier models. However, there is more than enough space for games and memory with 128GB of RAM and 4TB of SSD storage. For those that edit videos, this would be an excellent tool.
While the 14th generation Intel Core processor isn’t much faster than the 13th generation Core gaming laptops, the Titan 18 HX performed admirably in several of our most challenging tests, such as Cyberpunk 2077 with the Ray Tracing Ultra option.
The clicky and comfy Cherry MX mechanical keyboard is used by MSI. It’s a shame that MSI doesn’t utilize these switches for the number and arrow keys as well, but it’s still a luxury for typing and gaming.
The 18-inch mini-LED display, however, is the standout feature. It registered an astonishingly brilliant 559 nits with our light meter and covered 112.4% of the DCI-P3 color gamut in our testing. On this HDR panel, movies and games look fantastic.
MSI has emerged with the Titan as close to cramming a desktop into a laptop chassis as possible. It’s for people who don’t have room for — or don’t want — a desktop. It’s the best in many ways, assuming you can afford it.
There are extremely fortunate people in this world who don’t care about money. Those folks might be able to spend, perhaps, $5,400 on one of the top gaming laptops. For those individuals, there is the gigantic 18-inch gaming desktop replacement laptop, the MSI Titan 18 HX, which boasts an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, an astounding 128GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage.
The mini-LED display is bright and vivid, and the mechanical keyboard provides a touch of luxury for the price (albeit not every key is mechanically treated). There are plenty of ports, good build quality, and potential for improvement. Tank-like is the MSI Titan 18 HX. It’s heavy, big, unwieldy, and, to be honest, barely transportable. This 7.93-pound laptop aspires to be a desktop.To MSI’s credit, the design may lead one to believe it is elegant. The magnesium alloy chassis has a textured gray rear protrusion to house fans and additional I/O, and an all-black lid with an RGB dragon (naturally). Though I can’t deny they add personality, I think the blue stripes on the bulge to be a little distracting. This continues down the bottom of the laptop, which forgoes the upper half’s entire “adult gamer” appearance in favor of an appearance reminiscent of a Decepticon.
2.Acer Nitro 16
This list frequently includes products from Acer’s Nitro series, which combines affordability, performance, and good build quality to produce a fair product. The entry-level performance of an RTX 4050 and a Ryzen 5 7640HS is provided by the Nitro 16, which took the place of the previous Nitro 5. It also comes with certain luxuries.
Acer’s entry-level Nitro series is positioned beneath its high-end Predator lineup. The Nitro 16, which we are examining, is an updated version of the Nitro 5, adopting the more contemporary (or retro, depending on how long you have been following display technology) 16:10 aspect ratio in place of the previous 16:9 screen standard.
Given its entry-level price, the laptop’s all-plastic body isn’t shocking, but it’s well-made and feels sturdy. Even with intense finger pressure, its surfaces resisted flexing.
The lid was redesigned with eye-catching designs and Acer’s “N” (for Nitro) emblem, which appears to be backlit in pictures but isn’t. Additionally, the N logo made its way into the lower screen bezel. The only thing that would make this laptop look interesting, in my opinion, would be its illuminated keyboard, thus the lid decorations save it from being plain. The lines are straightforward, and since I love Miami Vice, I think pink and blue go together perfectly.
Regarding the Nitro logo, I have mixed feelings. It’s a novel concept, as the Nitro 5 didn’t have it, so Acer is clearly making efforts to build the brand. My issue is that it didn’t immediately look like an “N”, so initially I didn’t know what it meant, and I’m still not convinced that this logo is memorable. I wonder why Acer didn’t just spell out “Nitro” in the same crystalized font.
The Nitro 16 weighs 5.95 pounds and measures 14.8 x 11.02 x 1.1 inches. With a 16:9 screen, the MSI Katana 15 weighs 4.96 pounds and measures 14.13 x 10.20 x 0.98 inches, making it smaller. That also applies to HP’s Victus 16, which weighs 5.15 pounds and measures 14.53 x 10.21 x 0.90 inches. More expensive 16-inch 16:10 laptops are typically thinner as well, like the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 8 (14.3 x 10.25 x 1.05 inches and 5.6 pounds).
The extremely useful port selection of the Nitro 16 begins on the left side, where you’ll find a 3.5 mm headphone/microphone jack, a USB 2.0 port, a MicroSD card reader, and a Killer E2600 Ethernet port.
3.MSI Katana 15
For those looking for a portable gaming PC, gaming laptops are highly popular, and there are a plethora of options to meet your unique requirements. A high-end gaming laptop can easily set you back thousands of dollars if you want the greatest technology money can buy. However, other people may get by with something far less powerful and are unwilling to spend a mortgage payment—or two—on a gaming laptop.
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of competition in the gaming laptop market, with the arrival of the MSI Katana 15. The Katana 15 review unit, as configured, narrowly misses the cutoff Nevertheless, it packs a lot of performance for the money using an Intel Raptor Lake processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 discrete graphics card, 16GB of RAM and a generous 1TB SSD.
The Katana 15’s design has a lot going on. The laptop’s body is made entirely of high-sheen plastic, and the keyboard deck and display cover both exhibit significant flex. MSI decorates the keyboard deck with faux flathead screw decorations and imprints its branding onto the lid. Additionally, there are pixel-style design features engraved on the sides of the chassis, under the display, and along the edge of the display lid (you can see it prominently near the USB ports in the images below). Even if the laptop seems “cheap” overall, that’s to be expected from devices in this price range.
The four-zone RGB keyboard, which employs an unconventional font and additional pixel elements in between the keys next to the number pad, is the most audacious design decision, though. Because the power and WASD keys are translucent, you can see the scissor switches underneath. The arrow keys’ unusual and too crowded prints don’t appeal to me.
An Ethernet jack, HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2 Type-A, and USB 3.2 Type-C connections are located on the chassis’ right side. Another USB 3.2 Type-A connector, a USB 2.0 port, and a custom power outlet for a barrel-style plug are located on the other side.
The Katana 15 weights 4.96 pounds and is 14.13 x 10.20 x 0.98 inches, making it on the lighter side in this grouping. For comparison, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 measures 14.16 x 10.49 x 0.86 inches and weighs 5.51 pounds, while the Dell G15 (5520) comes in at 14.1 x 10.8 x 1.1 inches and 5.5 pounds. The Acer Nitro 5 weighs 5.51 pounds and measures 14.19 x 10.67 x 1.06 inches.
An entry-level GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, 16GB of DDR5-5200 RAM (2 x 8GB), a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD, and an Intel Core i7-13620H Raptor Lake processor round out the impressive specs in our MSI Katana 15 review. When we played the games at 1080p resolution with high detail turned on, we observed that frame rates generally ranged from 70 to 80 frames per second.
These kinds of devices are anticipated to be marketed towards the esports community, and the Katana 15 is competitive in Overwatch 2. I played Overwatch 2 for an hour, blasting people with the 1080p Ultra settings. Throughout multiplayer gaming sessions, the Katana 15 sustained its performance beyond the 144 fps limit of the 144 Hz display. I also used DLSS to play Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p on Ultra-RT settings.
4.Asus ROG Strix G16
For those who would rather have something smaller, Asus’ 16-inch ROG Strix G16 laptop is part of the Strix lineup designated for esports. In terms of size, the Strix G17 and G18 are situated above it. The ROG Strix G16 is equipped with Nvidia’s latest GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card and an elite Intel Core i9-13980HX Raptor Lake processor. This is the second laptop that we’ve tested that has the mainstream laptop GPU built on Ada Lovelace from Nvidia.
The ROG Strix G16, which has a 16-inch 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) 165 Hz IPS display, is also the newest laptop to go from a 16:9 to a 16:10 aspect ratio. This laptop boasts the specs to compete with some of the greatest gaming laptops available, with a 1TB SSD, 16GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, and the premium design we’ve come to expect from HP expect from Asus ROG.
For 2023, Asus fully revamped the ROG Strix G16’s chassis, and I believe it looks fantastic. Plastic is used by Asus for the remainder of the chassis and metal for the lid. The ROG Strix G16 proves that plastic doesn’t have to equal “cheap,” with a satin-like shine and excellent fit and finish throughout.
With regard to the RGB lighting, Asus stays rather understated; a tiny “under-glow” LED strip runs along the front edge of the laptop, extending to the sides and providing per-key lighting for the keyboard. Aura Sync, a feature of the Asus Armoury Crate software, allows you to customize each.
Speaking of the keyboard, Asus equipped it with five configurable hotkeys, designated M1 through M5, at the top. They take care of things like loudness, turning on and off the microphone, and a shortcut to the Armoury Crate by default. Although the ROG Strix G16 appears to be big enough to fit a number pad, it does not.
The ROG Strix G16 has only two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A connectors on its right side. On the other hand, the left side has one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C connector, one HDMI 2.1 port, one GbE port, one Thunderbolt 4 port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a proprietary barrel-style power port. To remove heat produced by the Core i9-13980HX and GeForce RTX, the laptop has sizable vents on both sides and the back.
The laptop weights 5.51 pounds (2.5 kg) and is 13.94 x 10.39 x 0.89 inches (354 x 264 x 304 mm) in size. In comparison, the Gigabyte Aorus 15X weighs 5.73 pounds, the HP Omen 16 weighs 5.2 pounds, and the Razer Blade 15 weighs 4.4 pounds.
With an Intel Core i9-13980HX (8 performance cores, 16 efficiency cores, and 5.6 GHz maximum turbo boost), an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, 16GB of DDR5-4800 RAM (two SO-DIMMs), and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, the Asus ROG Strix G16 is a potent gaming laptop. The laptop’s 1920 x 1200 resolution seems a little strange. It has slightly more pixels per inch than a 1920 x 1080 screen, but it still costs far less than the 2560 x 1440 screens that gaming laptops typically have in the $2,000 range. As a result, since gaming laptops with GeForce RTX 3070/4070-class GPUs nowadays usually have 2560 x 1440 displays, all of the competitors in this group have those as well.
5.Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (Gen 8)
The Legion Pro 5i is undoubtedly a gaming laptop, but Lenovo avoided creating a look that is overtly aggressive. Rather, the laptop features an ebony grey chassis with a trace of sheen in the paint, giving it a business suit-like appearance.
The remainder of the chassis is built from premium plastic, with the aluminum top cover featuring a straightforward Legion insignia. The big exhaust vents on either side of the laptop and the RGB keyboard are the only visible clues that this 16-inch beast is a gaming machine.
On the chassis’ right side are an e-shutter slider, a USB 3.2 Type-A port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. (The latter activates an electrical shutter for privacy, effectively turning off the webcam.) Lenovo stated that it chose this course of action because a physical privacy shutter is not possible with the small bezels surrounding the display. A USB 3.2 Type-C port and another USB 3.2 Type-A port are located on the left side. The majority of the connectors, including a proprietary power port, HDMI 2.1, a USB 3.2 Type-C port, two more USB 3.2 Type-A ports, and an Ethernet port, are located on the back panel.
The Legion Pro 5i (Gen 8) is almost exactly the same size as the Legion Pro 5i, measuring 14.3 x 10.25 x 0.88 inches.(Gen 7). However, the Gen 8 is also about 0.1 pounds heavier than the Gen 7 as configured. For comparison, the Asus ROG Strix G16 comes in at 113.94 x 10.39 x 0.89 inches and 5.6 pounds, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15X is 14.1 x 10.8 x 0.78 inches and weighs 5.73 pounds.
Lenovo provided our review equipment, which was outfitted with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and an Intel Core i7-13700HX CPU. The 16-inch display on the Legion Pro 5i boasts a refresh rate of 165 Hz and a native resolution of 2560 x 1600, but we also tested it at 1080p for our gaming testing. Although we’re comparing it against some more potent cards, this is one of the first laptops we’ve seen with an RTX 4060, so that’s more to demonstrate its place in the range.
During online battles, I played Overwatch 2 at 1600p resolution with the ultra settings enabled, and the on-screen stats panel was constantly set to 165 frames per second. In Red Dead Redemption, I also averaged about 52 frames per second 2 in most scenarios (1600p, Ultra setting), dipping down to the mid-40s when there was a lot of action happening on the screen.
How We Test Gaming Laptops
We put every gaming laptop through a rigorous set of tests and benchmarks before determining if it’s a worthy purchase.
In addition, we do a stress test that consists of running the Metro Exodus benchmark on the RTX setting 15 times in a loop while using HWInfo to record system characteristics. We also do our heat testing at this time.
We also perform a number of productivity benchmarks, such as our internal file transfer test, Geekbench, and Handbrake. These evaluate the processor’s overall performance as well as its single- and multi-core capabilities.
We use our colorimeter and light meter to measure the brightness of gaming laptop displays and provide the results in nits. We also record the volume of the DCI-P3 and sRGB color gamut that the screen covers.Using Wi-Fi, our battery test establishes a connection with a nearby web server and proceeds to continually surf the internet, do basic OpenGL graphics tests, and stream films. We provide the hours and minutes that the laptop took to complete the test.
A benchmark is not the only thing. In addition, we put the gaming laptops we review to use. In addition to utilizing gaming laptops for writing, watching movies, listening to music, and surfing the web, our writers and editors also spend time gaming. This allows us to report our personal opinions regarding the design, audio, port selection, keyboard, and other aspects. It also allows us to spend some quality time playing!