The Best Gaming Laptops for Any Quest
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Choosing a gaming laptop is like putting together a well-balanced adventuring party. You need to look at what you plan to use it for and what kinds of quests you'll tackle, then try to match its capabilities to your needs—without emptying your coin purse. To that end, weary travelers, we took it upon ourselves to source the latest and greatest gaming laptops from forges large and small. We gathered them in our keep and ran them through several tests to sort the god-rolls from the vendor trash. Here they are, the best gaming laptops for every kind of player.
Be sure to check out our picks for the Best Laptops, Best Gaming Mice, Best Keyboards, Best Mechanical Keyboards, Best Gaming Headsets, and our favorite PC Games (as well as how to build a game library for free).
Updated September 2024: We've added the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio A1V and the Chromebook Plus 516 GE.
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What Makes a Great Gaming Laptop?
Picking the right gaming laptop can be a delicate balance. The raw power you typically find in gaming desktops takes a lot of power, and when you put that in a laptop, it can drain the battery fast. Similarly, the superfast refresh rates in gaming monitors can lead to even more power drain. If you plan to keep your laptop plugged in most of the time, you can lean toward more powerful hardware, but if you want to play on the battery more, then balancing power with efficiency should be a priority for you.
Size is also a factor to consider. When you're gaming at home, you might want the largest, brightest screen you can find, but when you have to carry that screen around, the bulk and weight can be a (quite literal) drag. If you plan to travel with your laptop, you might want to think about how much heft you're willing to lug around.
No matter what, you should expect to make some sacrifices that aren't as common with more typical laptops. It's not unusual for a gaming laptop to last less than two hours when you start playing games on it. And unless you have a lot of (usually expensive) power under the hood, you might not be able to play some modern AAA games at their highest level the way you would on a desktop without spending a little time fiddling with the game's graphics settings.
Know Your Specs
It's easy to get overwhelmed with specs and numbers when you're shopping for a gaming laptop, but there are a few key specs you can focus on to get the best bang for your buck. For additional help with all the different specifications on offer, check out our How to Buy a Laptop guide.
- RAM: Aim for a machine with at least 16 GB of RAM. While 8 GB of RAM is still workable for those who play less demanding games or have little desire for fancy graphics, 16 GB of RAM is a safe bet for most. If you want the power to play new AAA games, consider stepping up to 32 GB of RAM. The speed of your RAM can also be a factor. Currently, DDR5 is the best you'll find, but you'll start to see DDR6 replacing it over the next few years.
- CPU: When you want the fastest processor, newer is usually better. Intel is currently on its 14th generation of gaming CPUs and AMD Ryzen is on the 8000 series. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty, CPU benchmarks can help you get a sense of how powerful a processor is, but the best indicator is real-world testing (which we do on every laptop we feature).
- GPU: Similar to CPU, there are a lot of models out there that can get overwhelming to keep track of. Nvidia has a wide range of 40-series GPUs, while AMD competes with its Radeon 7000 generation. These will often share similar names to their desktop counterparts, but most are technically running the “Laptop” version of the GPU. Again, real-world testing is the best indicator of performance.
- Storage: Most laptops have solid state drives nowadays, which are super fast and reduce load times considerably from the days of hard drives. Games can get massive, so we'd recommend at least a 1-TB internal drive, though if you can swing for 2 TB, you'll have a lot more room for multiple AAA games.
- Display refresh rate: Gaming is one of the few areas where getting more than 60 frames per second can have a tangible benefit. Gaming laptops can range from a moderately fast 120 Hz, all the way up to 300 Hz. All those extra frames will also increase processing and battery power though, so you'll need to consider how much power you need, and how often you plan to play while away from a charger.
- Photograph: Razer
Best Overall
Razer Blade 14The Razer Blade 14 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) blew me away when I tried it right around when Starfield came out. Razer is known for its high-end gaming laptops, and the slim, aluminum chassis on this laptop has the same luxe build quality we've liked it for in the past. But the 2,560 X 1,600 IPS, G-Sync-compatible display is what caught my attention. Even at 30 to 40 percent brightness, it felt bright and vivid, with blacks so dark it's as if the screen disappears in dark rooms. It's not quite what you'd see in an OLED display, but it was close enough that it fooled me for hours while I flew through space. Best of all, the 240-Hz panel allows for ultrahigh frame rates for the smoothest gameplay.
Inside, the Blade 14 comes equipped with the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS. There is a newer version with the Ryzen 9 8945HS, but you likely won't see much difference in performance. You also get 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1-TB NVMe SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU (upgradeable to an RTX 4070). The RTX 4060 is decently powerful, but the RTX 4070 is a respectably strong GPU that can help power through even demanding games like Starfield. It also has a USB-C and USB-A port on both the left and right of the laptop, making it convenient to plug in peripherals. It comes with a full-size HDMI port too. It includes a large charging block, which you'll need for charging while playing power-hungry games, but you can charge it via USB-C if you need to top it off while working. It's pricey, but the Blade 14 routinely dips under $2,000, which is great value.
CPU AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS / Ryzen 9 8945HS GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060/4070 Memory 16 GB DDR5 RAM Storage 1-TB NVMe PCIe SSD Screen size 14-inch Resolution 2,560 X 1,600 Display type IPS Refresh rate 240 Hz - Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft
Best Gaming Laptop for Portability
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14The 2024 iteration of Asus' ROG Zephyrus G14 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the closest thing I've found to a Windows laptop that feels like my Macbook Air. It has a slim, silver aluminum chassis, all-day battery life (so long as you stick to regular work), and a slender 14-inch frame. It also stands out, with a gorgeous 3K OLED display and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU (upgradeable to an RTX 4070). It comes with a 1-TB SSD, giving it plenty of room for both games and all the files you need for work.
On paper, it's pretty similar to the Razer Blade 14, though its OLED screen is slightly higher resolution at 2,880 x 1,800, and limited to 120 Hz instead of 240 Hz. However, depending on your needs, this might be a benefit. The RTX 4060 (and even the RTX 4070) can struggle to put out more than 120 frames per second for some heavy games, and there aren't many where it makes that much of a difference. Fewer frames mean less power consumed, and the Zephyrus G14 appropriately gets slightly better battery life than the Blade 14, which makes it great if you intend to take your gaming laptop with you out of the house more often than not.
CPU AMD Ryzen R9 8945HS GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060/4070 Memory 16 GB DDR5 RAM Storage 1-TB NVMe PCIe SSD Screen size 14-inch Resolution 2,880 X 1,800 Display type OLED Refresh rate 120 Hz
- Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft
Best Upgrade
Razer Blade 18 (2024)The 2024 iteration of the Razer Blade 18 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of the most powerful gaming laptops I've tested. It has the same stylish design as the Blade 14 but with a GPU upgradeable up to an RTX 4090 and an ultra-fast 14th-generation Intel Core i9 14900HX processor. It's enough raw power to tear through games like Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077 with over 60 fps even in the most crowded, difficult-to-render areas of the games, and well over 100 fps in most normal areas.
The Mini LED display has a uniquely high 300-Hz refresh rate and 2,000 local dimming zones, making it one of the smoothest, most vibrant displays I've ever seen on a laptop. The Blade 18 is also the first laptop with a Thunderbolt 5 port, capable of up to 120 Gbps throughput. There aren't many docks or accessories that support Thunderbolt 5 yet, but it's a future-ready capability that will make this laptop an ideal option for connecting to high-powered desktop docking stations for years to come.
CPU Intel Core i9 14900HX GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070/4080/4090 Memory 32 GB DDR5 RAM Storage 1-TB/2-TB SSD Screen size 18-inch Resolution 2,560 X 1,600 Display type Mini LED Refresh rate 300 Hz - Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft
Another Great 18-Inch Gaming Laptop
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024)The 2024 model of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a legendary beast of a machine. It has a gargantuan 18-inch 2,560 x 1,600 Mini LED display capable of up to 500 nits of brightness under normal functionality, but it can blast up to 1,100 nits in HDR mode. It's so bright that, while watching HDR videos of sparks and fireworks, it genuinely felt like lights were flashing in front of my face.
This monster packs an Intel Core i9-14000HX processor, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, and a blisteringly fast Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 laptop GPU. I say “blistering” because this thing does get pretty hot. But it's also designed with extra ridges and ample airflow to help keep it cool, even when running the toughest games while connected to power. It has similar power output to the Razer Blade 18, though it lacks has a slightly lower 240-Hz refresh rate, and lacks the Thunderbolt 5 port.
There still a wealth of connectivity options and you might not need a USB dock at all. In addition to the usual USB-A, USB-C, and 3.5-mm headphone jack, it includes a full-size HDMI out, plus an Ethernet port, so you can take the LAN party anywhere.
CPU Intel Core i9-14000HX GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Memory 32 GB DDR5 RAM Storage 2-TB NVMe PCIe SSD Screen size 18-inch Resolution 2,560 X 1,600 Display type Mini LED Refresh rate 240 Hz
- Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft
A Workhorse With a Side of Gaming
MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio A1VMSI's Stealth 18 AI Studio A1V (7/10, WIRED Review) might tout the value of the dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) in its Meteor Lake Intel processors, but in practice, it could be a while before you ever use it (if at all). However, it's still a solid gaming laptop that's excellent for getting work done. Especially if you do a lot of media creation. The powerful RTX 4090 GPU tears through games, and the nearly 100-Wh battery means you can play for hours without rushing to a charger. MSI opted for a 4K display, which is a little overkill. This is paired with a 120-Hz refresh rate; I would have preferred a lower resolution if it meant a 144-Hz refresh rate, but either way, it's plenty for most games.
Where it excels is as a workhorse. If there's one area the NPU might be useful soon, it's in media editing apps like DaVinci Resolve. Plus, I'm a big fan of working on a laptop with nice little extras like a NumPad, rear workstation connectors, and a dedicated fingerprint sensor.
CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 185H GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Memory 64 GB DDR5 RAM Storage 2-TB NVMe PCIe SSD Screen size 18-inch Resolution 3,840 X 2,400 Display type Mini LED Refresh rate 120 Hz - Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft
Best 16-Inch Gaming Laptop
Dell Alienware m16 R2Dell’s Alienware line has been a staple of the gaming laptop world for years, and the recent Alienware m16 R2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of the company's better entries of late. It starts at $1,500, making it reasonably affordable, with plenty of upgrade options to get more power out of your device.
Even with the RTX 4070 option in the unit I tested, I routinely hit nine to 10 hours of battery life with an average workday. While that's not the longest battery life I've seen, it's still great for a gaming laptop. At 16 inches, it's not quite as portable as the Zephyrus G14, but it's still easy to stow in a laptop bag. Between that and the tasteful lighting design, this is a gaming laptop that can go undercover as your work laptop without raising your boss’s eyebrows.
CPU Intel Core Ultra 7 GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060/4070/408 Memory 16 GB DDR5 RAM Storage 1-TB NVMe PCIe SSD Screen size 16-inch Resolution 2,560 X 1,600 Display type IPS Refresh rate 240 Hz
- Photograph: Acer
Best Budget Gaming Laptop
Acer Nitro 17 (2024, AMD)The Acer Nitro 17 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t the flashiest laptop in the world, but it packs plenty of power at a relatively low price, especially considering you’re getting a spacious 17-inch screen. That does make it one of the bigger, heavier laptops we've tested (it weighs 6.3 pounds), but it has enough power to handle plenty of top games. It starts at $1,250 with a GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor, and 16 GB of RAM.
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Memory 16 GB DDR5 RAM Storage 1-TB NVMe PCIe SSD Screen size 17-inch Resolution 1,920 X 1,080 Display type IPS Refresh rate 165 Hz - Photograph: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster
A Great Chromebook Cloud Gaming Laptop
Acer Chromebook Plus 516 GEIf your internet connection is better than your gaming laptop budget, you might consider a Chromebook. That's right, I said it. It might not be ideal for the latest AAA games, but the Chromebook Plus 516 GE (8/10, WIRED Recommends) excels at streaming from services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now. It pulls this off via a combination of Wi-Fi 6E support, and a built-in ethernet port as a fallback.
For typical work duties, it lasts a full eight-hour workday, and since games streamed from the cloud don't run locally on your computer, there's not as much of a power drain when you do game. That said, you can play games locally via Steam, which is currently in beta on ChromeOS. Steam on Chromebooks utilizes the same Proton compatibility layer that makes the Steam Deck work, though it's earlier in development. You can find more about which games run well on ChromeOS devices here.
CPU Intel Core i5 120U GPU Intel Integrated Graphics Memory 8 GB LPDDR4X Storage 256-GB PCIe SSD Screen size 16-inch Resolution 2,560 X 1,600 Display type IPS Refresh rate 120 Hz
Photograph: AcerHonorable Mentions
Other Good Gaming LaptopsNew gaming laptops are coming out all the time. Likewise, just because something is a generation or two behind doesn't mean it isn't worth picking up. Sometimes you can score a great deal by opting for last year's model.
- Acer Nitro 5 for $875: This is an older machine, but if you want a gaming laptop for under $1,000 and don't have exceptionally high demands, it's still great. It has an RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. It's a serviceable machine at a reasonable price.
- Acer Swift X 14 for $1,700: If portability is your top priority, consider the Swift X 14 (6/10, WIRED Review). It delivers good performance with its RTX 4070 graphics card and Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, but the unfortunate reality is that it runs very hot and the fan spins almost all the time.
