The Best Gaming Laptops: Power, Portability, and Playability 🎮

The ideal starting point for newcomers to PC gaming.

Best gaming laptops for any budget in 2024

Let’s be real: PC gaming offers the best possible experience for gaming. High-end gaming computers pack more graphical and processing power than any home console does, and they offer a level of freedom in terms of customization and game choice that you’re just not going to find anywhere else. But when it comes down to it, do you want your gaming sessions to be tied to your desk?

While desktops may deliver the best performance, the best gaming laptops fit into the modern lifestyle more smoothly. It’s convenient to be able to take your gaming rig with you on the go – whether that’s to a friend’s place or just to another room. Plus, there’s a gaming laptop to fit every type of player. Whether you’re looking for a powerhouse that supports eye-popping visuals, a lightweight notebook to fit snugly in your backpack, or hoping to find the best budget gaming laptop, we promise there’s a machine for you.

Finding the Perfect Gaming Laptop: A Game of Specs and Scrutiny 🧐

Yet, finding the best gaming laptop for your needs and budget can be tricky. They may be easier to parse than their desktop counterparts, but gaming laptops still require a fair bit of careful spec scrutinization. These are no consoles — you can’t just pick the latest generation system off the shelf and get playing. Choosing between the many graphics cards, processors, storage sizes, and screen types can be a real head-scratcher. That’s where we come in.

ENBLE shopping experts have tested and reviewed a lot of gaming laptops over the years, and we know exactly what to look for. Read on to find our recommendations for the best gaming laptop of the year.

Testing the Lenovo Legion Slim 7i gaming laptop for this guide. Credit: Callum Bains / ENBLE

What to Consider When Looking for a Gaming Laptop 🧠💻

As with any computer — gaming or otherwise — there are a lot of components that make up any given device. You shouldn’t have to figure all that out for yourself, though. Here’s what you’ll want to take into account when shopping for a gaming laptop:

💡 CPU: The Brain of Your Gaming Machine

Also called a processor, your CPU is basically your computer’s brain, and will dictate how fast your laptop can process inputs, store data, and execute commands. Your processor is in constant communication with the other parts of your computer, so it’s important that the device’s central nervous system is a good one. In general, the newer the CPU, the better the processing power.

🎮 GPU: Graphics Queentessa

The GPU (or graphics card) does what it sounds like it does: It ensures that your games can run at their intended graphical quality. The better the GPU, the better your laptop can render details like textures, anti-aliasing, ray tracing, and more (you can always change these settings within your games to better suit your graphics card, but the better the GPU, the closer you can get to those higher-end settings). Right now, the Nvidia RTX 4090 is considered the graphics card to beat, with AMD and Radeon making some of the most popular alternatives.

💽 RAM: Memory Muscle

Your RAM, like your CPU, is also extremely important in determining overall performance. RAM provides short-term memory storage for applications so that they can access data quickly, storing information that your computer is actively using. Even the best budget gaming laptops should have a minimum of 8GB of RAM.

📦 Storage: HDD vs. SSD Showdown

When it comes to storage, you’ll normally find yourself deciding between a hard drive (HDD) and a solid-state drive (SSD). HDDs can have a higher storage capacity than SSDs, but at the cost of lower performance. The good news is that some gaming laptops come with a dual-storage approach, opting for an HDD as the main storage method, with a smaller SSD built in that you can dedicate to your more performance-demanding games.

Testing the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop for this guide. Credit: Callum Bains / ENBLE

🖥️ Display: All About That Gaming Visual ✨

That nice GPU you bought will be wasted if you don’t have a nice display to marvel at its brilliance. You’ll mainly want to look for three things here: resolution, refresh rate, and size. For our money, we say go for a 1080p resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate at minimum. That said, the higher the frame rate, the smoother the action. The size, however, is up to your preference — gaming laptops usually come in at 16-inch, 15.6-inch, and 17.3-inch displays.

⌨️ Keyboard: The Keys to Comfort and Functionality

The keyboard is another vital part of your overall experience with a gaming laptop. Comfort is definitely a factor, but you’ll also want to decide whether you want full-range RGB backlight settings (totally fine to skip out on the fancy stuff here), and if you like the layout of the keys themselves. For example, if you find that you desperately need a number pad on your keyboard, you’ll want to double-check to make sure that it’s there — not all gaming laptops have one (not all 15.6-inch options at least, though almost all 17.3-inch laptops will have one).

Among all of those considerations, the most important are a laptop’s GPU and CPU. These will ultimately determine whether it can run the latest, most dazzling games, and do so at a reasonable performance. They’re also usually the parts that will hold your laptop back when it gets old and dusty. Remember: Prioritize a speedy processor and graphics card above all else.

Our Picks: The Best Gaming Laptops of 2024 🔥💻

Below, you’ll find our carefully curated list of the best gaming laptops in 2024:

1. Lenovo Legion Slim 7i Gaming Laptop – A slim and lightweight powerhouse that offers exceptional performance and portability.

2. ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Gaming Laptop – A compact and efficient gaming laptop with an impressive battery life.

3. Dell Alienware M15 R5 Gaming Laptop – A high-performance gaming laptop that boasts top-notch graphics and a stunning display.

4. Razer Blade 15 Advanced Gaming Laptop – A sleek and powerful gaming laptop with excellent build quality and advanced features.

5. MSI GE66 Raider Gaming Laptop – A gaming laptop with a stunning design and top-of-the-line performance.

No matter which laptop you choose from this list, you’ll be upping your gaming experience to the next level. Happy gaming!

🌐 References:

• The best laptops to buy in 2024
• The 5 best laptops for students: MacBooks, Microsoft Surface, and more
• ENBLE’s best games 2023: No, ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ isn’t No. 1
• The best gaming headsets for consoles and PC: SteelSeries, Razer, and more of our top picks
• The best handheld gaming consoles of 2023
• The best VR headsets of 2023: Only three models made the cut

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Source: Original Content

• Gaming