The Best Gaming Laptops for 2023

Gaming laptops bring the best of both worlds. With the portability of a laptop and the performance of a PC, having a gaming laptop can revolutionize the way gamers play. These laptops offer high-performance rates that can help with almost anything, be it school, animation, side projects, or gaming. While they are a tad bulkier than a standard laptop, many have the option for a slimmer model that can fit into most backpacks and side bags. If users are not worried about portability, they might want to Game Rant’s list for the best gaming PCs for 2023 for their gaming needs.

Some gaming laptops are designed for artists, with touch screens and a foldable interface. Others are designed with only gaming in mind, with robust fans and other cooling options to keep everything functioning smoothly. There are many choices to make when considering a gaming laptop, such as budget and workload, which is why we have some of the best picks possible to help gamers get started.

Key Factors To Choosing The Best Gaming Laptop

When looking for a new laptop, there are a couple of factors users will want to consider to make sure they pick out the perfect laptop for themselves:

• Display: What kind of performance do users want from the display? Gaming laptops come in all shapes and sizes and their displays are no different with some of them opting for a basic high refresh rate display while others use considerably more tricked-out panels with extremely high refresh rates or higher resolutions or even completely different display technology altogether to enable a better gaming experience. Options Available: High-resolution displays, High refresh rate displays, OLED (High contrast) displays, Mini LED (High brightness/HDR performance centric displays) etc.
• Form Factor: What size of laptop do users want? Gaming Laptops can range from compact 13 inches to mammoth 18-inch options. There are larger desktop replacements, but most tend to be in the 14 to 16-inch range. Gamer choices tend to vary based on portability and keyboard size requirement as well as comfort with certain display sizes.
• GPU and CPU: What games do users want to play, and what specs will allow them to play those games? Gaming laptops can have entry-level gaming CPUs and GPUs such as a Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5 CPU paired with an RTX 3050 or a maxed out, unlocked Ryzen 9 or Intel Core i9 CPU paired to an RTX 4090 GPU depending on the budget of the gamer they are targeting as well as the games and resolutions/refresh rates they tend to target.
• Memory and Storage: How much space is required for a game library, and how much RAM makes sense for a gamer’s needs? Modern games tend to consume a great deal of memory and require large amounts of fast SSD storage. This also means that gaming laptops might require upgrades that end users are not comfortable doing themselves. Therefore, picking up the right amount of storage and memory from the get-go helps save unnecessary time spent attempting DIY solutions later.
• Special Features: What makes a laptop go the extra mile and be perfect for gamers? All gamers have different needs. Some laptops come with unique features such as eye trackers, additional USB ports, glare-free displays, and unique peripherals that add value for enthusiasts looking to max out their gaming experience.

The Best Gaming Laptops

ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2023)

Best Overall Gaming Laptop

The ASUS ROG Strix G16 is designed for smooth gameplay and efficient multitasking. The computer sports a 13th-generation Intel Core i9-13980HX processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 GPU. These allow high frame rates for a smooth gaming experience. For faster load times and efficient multitasking, the laptop includes 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 1TB PCIe SSD.

The Strix G16 also features ROG Intelligent Cooling, with liquid metal on the CPU. The laptop’s QHD 240Hz panel ensures clear, fast visuals and is DCI-P3 compliant.

Brand

ASUS

Storage

1TB PCI-E 4.0 SSD

CPU

Intel Core i9-13980HX

Operating System

Windows 11

GPU

RTX 4050 (140W)

Network

Wi-Fi 6E, Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.3

RAM

16GB DDR5

Display (Size, Resolution)

16” QHD, 240Hz

Model

G614JU-ES94

Pros

• Offers an excellent, balanced CPU and GPU combination
• Uses liquid metal on the unit to keep temperatures low and offer higher boost clocks
• Powered by Nvidia’s latest 4000 series GPUs and Intel’s 13th generation CPUs

Cons

• Competing laptops sometimes offer 240Hz refresh rates at this price point
• SSD storage is a bit limited given the competition

The ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2023) is an easy choice for the best gaming laptop this year given the amount of power under the hood that is also equally balanced. The G16 uses liquid metal as part of its cooling mechanism to deliver lower temperatures and higher boost clocks, making it an excellent product to consider if potential buyers are going for a powerful, current generation and mid-range option that gets the job done with plenty of upgrade potential.

At the same time, the WUXGA resolution-offering laptop does have its drawbacks: It only comes with 16GB of DDR5 memory on offer, which could be seen as detrimental given its current pricing even as modern laptop memory grows increasingly cheaper over time. Still, the G16 offers excellent hardware with upgradable options and is a stellar performer, making it an excellent purchase that also doubles as our weapon of choice as the best gaming laptop given its unique hardware options, a dedicated MUX Switch for the discrete GPU and a well-priced package, making it an easy recommendation for general gaming use.

The Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop is a capable budget gaming laptop that can help gamers dominate the game no matter what esports title they play. If one likes online games, the Killer DoubleShot Pro with Ethernet and Killer Wi-Fi 6 1650 can allow them to use both Wi-Fi and Ethernet at the same time, helping users prioritize different tasks for different channels. The Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop is larger, but still portable in most large bags or backpacks. This makes it usable for school, work, or just gaming at home.

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The Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop stays cool under pressure. With the Acer CoolBoost technology integrated right into the system, the laptop can increase fan speed by up to 10% to help keep itself cool when it needs it the most. With the Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop, one can take control of their gameplay by using the NitroSense UI, visualizing their PC’s temperature, fan speed, power plan, loading performance, and more.

The MSI Raider GE78 HX is pretty much as beefy as it comes in terms of gaming laptops. It features the top-of-the-line i9-13980HX, which is the fastest laptop CPU to date, a dedicated RTX 4080 laptop GPU, and over 64 GB of DDR5 RAM. This gaming laptop performs the best and even runs on par with some of the highest-end desktops at the moment.

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Whether people are looking for a beast of a gaming laptop that can handle pretty much any game thrown its way or people want this laptop for content creation, the high performance of the GE78 HX makes any task an absolute joy. For gamers who want an even bigger display and a bit more GPU power, the MSI Titan GT77 HX packs an RTX 4090; however, it comes in at a pretty high price point.

The ASUS TUF Dash 15 Gaming Laptop is a compact yet powerful gaming laptop developed by ASUS. With a capable NVIDIA RTX 3060 GPU, the gameplay for most high-speed games is super smooth on the almost 16-inch colorful display. Using the MUX Switch, users can have the dedicated GPU take over the internal GPU at the flip of a switch. This can help improve performance and reduce latency by as much as 5 to 10 percent in most cases.

RELATED: Best PC and Laptop DealsThe ASUS TUF Dash 15 Gaming Laptop is equipped with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7, making it powerful enough for most high-performance games. Not just for gamers, this laptop is perfect for students that need to multitask through classes and projects with ease. The HD display on the ASUS TUF Dash 15 Gaming Laptop keeps up with its processor for not only high performance but also little latency between the game and what users see on the screen.

This lightweight powerhouse of a gaming laptop is the Razer Blade 14, the previous generation of laptops from Razer. While the Blade 16 is crushing the competition for best overall, the Blade 14 has still found its way onto this list as the best lightweight gaming laptop, coming in at just under 4 lbs. With a Ryzen 9 6900HS, RTX 3070 Ti, and CNC aluminum frame, the Blade 14 prioritizes both form and function and delivers on both counts.

Truthfully, the reason the weight was significantly decreased was in part due to the lower battery capacity. The Razer Blade 14 only has a 61.6 Watt-hour battery life or roughly 33% less battery life than the Razer Blade 16. The slightly smaller size makes for smaller keys as well, but overall, the Blade 14 can hold its own against some of the best in the business, even if they are significantly larger and heavier than Razer’s SKU which clocks in just under 4 pounds.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus 14′ WQXGA Gaming Laptop is one of the best-known laptops in the business thanks to both its aggressive design and its penchant for housing some of the most powerful CPU and GPU combinations possible in a 14′ frame. Users looking for a laptop that they can be mobile with have found the perfect option. The G14 is considerably lightweight versus its competition and this particular version trades at a discount at various retailers as it continues to be phased out by a slightly faster, newer version of itself.

It offers an excellent 2K, 120Hz ROG Nebula display that offers up to 500 nits of brightness and a powerful Ryzen 9 CPU along with a 6700HS GPU to round off its powerful processor. While it does throttle somewhat given its form factor as a 14′ laptop housing hardware that generates large amounts of heat, it is a marked improvement over the last generation of G14 laptops while packing decent audio and large enough SSD for most gamers to be able to game on the go without issues.

The Razer Blade 16, the successor to the Razer Blade 15, received major upgrades this generation, including the switch to fast DDR5 RAM, an upgrade from the NVIDIA 3000 series to the 4000 series, and an extra inch added to the display for even more sweet, sweet gaming. It comes bundled with a slightly higher price tag, a faster 13th-generation processor, and a more polished design at work to justify the extra inch of screen size it takes up. Razer fans looking for their next gaming laptop from the company won’t be disappointed.

The Razer Blade lineup has been called, for better or worse, the ‘Macbook of Gaming Laptops’ by many quarters, and it is a moniker that the Blade 16 seems determined to keep up with. Offering an excellent generational upgrade in all tech it can across the board, the Blade 16 delivers excellent performance versus its predecessor, unfortunately at a price tag that somewhat makes it an afterthought for users on a budget.

While Alienware is often known as a pricey but established gaming laptop brand in the gaming community, the new M16 laptop is one of the best pieces of technology they’ve ever released when talking price-to-performance. Combining the i9-13900HX, a full-sized RTX 4080, as well as a QHD+ display makes this laptop one of the best-performing laptops on the market. One can regularly find this laptop competing with high-end desktop setups on benchmarks as it aims to be a desktop replacement instead of a portable gaming machine.

At just above 7 lb of weight, the Alienware is heavier than most of its competitors while also being relatively deficient in the battery department. This makes it perfect for users looking to save space with a desktop replacement for portable use. The M16 is a powerful gaming laptop and should be treated as such, but it does tend to push boundaries – and not always in a good way as it packs a powerful punch, but one does make a few compromises along the way.

How To Pick The Best Gaming Laptop?

It can be a hard task to pick out a new gaming laptop. There is a wide range of features that one has to consider when choosing a new laptop, from hardware specs to the display, form factor, battery life, and those special features that can make or break laptops for most users. Breaking down each of those factors individually makes choices significantly easier.

Display

The display size, resolution, refresh rate, and display technology are all things that need to consider while making a choice when it comes to laptops. The display is of paramount importance here since it is more often than not, the primary output device and given that gamers might end up playing on the laptop itself more often than external displays, getting this right is crucial for their experience.

One also needs hardware to match their display needs and vice versa. Getting an FHD 144Hz display with an RTX 4080/4090 laptop might not be a wise option given that one is limited by the resolution and refresh rate in terms of visual fidelity. Similarly, slapping on a 300Hz screen with an RTX 3050TI or 3060 might not be the wisest course of action either; finding the right balance means gamers get the maximum amount of value out of their gaming laptop without making compromises.

Form Factor

Form factor and display size go hand in hand. If one wants a lightweight small laptop, one with a 17-inch display is generally not an option. Laptops can range from slim machines users can easily slip into any backpack to desktop replacement laptops which are absolutely huge. Checking out the specs like the weight and dimensions of the overall laptop will give prospective buyers a good idea of what kind of form factor and use case they target.

At the same time, do consider that modern laptops are considerably lighter than they used to be. If one hasn’t been in the market of late, it is always a good idea to check out some display models in-store to get the right fit for user needs.

CPU and GPU

CPUs and GPUs are the two main specs that usually determine a laptop’s speed (or potential speed if other bottlenecks persist). Mobile GPUs generally are slower than their desktop components.

For example, a laptop RTX 4090 is comparable to a desktop RTX 4080 while its power limitations mean it performs considerably slower than the latter. The same restrictions apply to laptop CPUs which means that one might have to go a step further in terms of specs to get desktop-esque performance on a laptop, even if it is billed as a desktop replacement.

Memory and Storage

Most high-performance gaming laptops nowadays use NVME SSDs which offer excellent speed and for the most part larger storage options. With games requiring more and more storage, we recommend looking at least 500 GB of storage, but if gamers don’t want to upgrade the storage for a while a 1 or 2 TB SSD might be the way to go. Given that modern SSDS continue getting cheaper, this might be a no-brainer to get inside, instead of alongside a brand-new gaming laptop.

Memory or RAM is similar to storage but considerably faster and more volatile compared to more permanent storage options such as PC SSDs. For most gamers, 16 GB of RAM is going to be enough for now. But as modern game specifications creep up on us, it might be wise for the occasional power user to grab as much as 32GB of laptop memory simply for future-proofing their gaming laptop.

We also recommend looking at laptops that have easily upgradable RAM and storage, so one doesn’t need to pay a small fortune to upgrade or simply not have that option altogether due to soldered memory or storage on the motherboard, limiting repair potential as well as upgrades down the line.

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FAQ

Q: Are gaming laptops good for multiplayer games?

Gaming laptops can definitely hold their own when gamers try out multiplayer titles, even if the laptop isn’t as robust an option as a full PC. Just make sure you have a good mouse, because FPS titles demand precision that a trackpad can’t keep up with.

Q: What should I consider before buying a gaming laptop?

There are a few things that you may want to think about when getting your first gaming laptop. Are you going to use it for more than just gaming? If you’re considering using your laptop for school or work as well, you may want to consider getting a slimmer laptop build, something that looks professional and appealing to the eye. If you just want to use the laptop for gaming and gaming alone, a bulkier, bigger laptop may be more appropriate.

Q: What are some good accessories to buy for gaming laptops?

There are all kinds of add-ons you can get to help your laptop thrive. A fan, for example, one that attaches at the base, can help keep the laptop cool in addition to its own internal methods. Getting a good mouse can also help you game more effectively, especially if you have a dedicated desk for your gaming space.