Top-Performing Gaming Laptops Available in the Market by 2024
The era of high-quality gaming laptops has truly flourished. Major PC manufacturers have succeeded in elevating their gaming-focused brands to a point where you can find an excellent portable gaming machine for almost any budget, provided you're ready to spend around $1000 or more. You can opt for a lightweight, standard laptop, but it wouldn't be amiss to consider heavy-duty gaming machines for an added kick to your mundane work device. And why not, if you're still searching for a laptop that won't burn a hole in your pocket yet delivers or surpasses performance standards?
A superior gaming laptop should offer more than just superior specifications squeezed into a large aluminum box. It cannot merely act as a means to transport a high-end GPU. It cannot be the most expensive, nor should it feel cheap. Moreover, it should retain its portability, considering it's a laptop after all. If it lacked portability, what would be the point of the additional expense, when a desktop with suitable specs could cost less?
Sacrifices are inevitable, but in the realm of gaming PCs, compromises become crucial. Machines like the Dell XPS 14 with an option for a discrete Nvidia RTX 4050 laptop GPU or the XPS 16 with an RTX 4070 are examples of such compromises. However, their diminutive keyboards may not appeal to gamers. Similarly, devices that promote cloud gaming services may seem alluring, but unless they boast a strong display and robust Wi-Fi connectivity, they're no match for a dedicated gaming hardware device.
Ultimately, the best gaming laptops do not feel like compromises. They manage to strike a balance between pushing hardware to its limits and relying on top-notch builds, exceptional screens, and the prevalence of advanced technologies like Nvidia's DLSS or AMD's FidelityFX to offer gaming experiences that rival desktops, all while being portable.
Top Gaming Laptop Overall
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i
When it comes to choosing a gaming laptop, you might expect something hefty, a bit cumbersome, and costly. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i meets these expectations, with its hefty design and price tag. Despite its size and weight, it packs a punch, offering a full-sized keyboard with a numpad and the' expected RGB lighting. It features ample connectivity, with ports on both sides and the back edge, as well as a thermal shelf. It can accommodate an Intel Core i9-14900HX and an Nvidia RTX 4090 laptop GPU, all for less than $4000.
However, the interior shelf sags under the weight of your wrists, and the keyboard and trackpad are average at best. The 2560×1600 resolution screen is satisfactory but unremarkable. Its battery life is also less than stellar, lasting only a few hours on balanced power mode. Despite these shortcomings, its performance and price make it a standout choice, earning it a place on our list.
Mid-Range Gaming Laptop Champion
Alienware m16 R2
Sometimes, the best laptops deliver bare essentials incredibly well. The Alienware m16 R2 is an excellent example of this, featuring a comfortable keyboard, a smooth trackpad, and a solid thermal shelf. Its size and weight make it easy to carry around, and it offers an affordable Intel Core Ultra 9 and an RTX 4070 GPU, delivering decent frames in most games for less than $2000. It starts at $1500 for the version with a Core Ultra 7 and an RTX 4050, which comes with a base 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. Its refresh rate display is not the most spectacular, but it gets the job done. Its only weakness is its tendency to get hot, which could affect performance when the fans are maxed out.
Exceptional 14-inch Gaming Laptop
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) represents the perfect blend of power and portability in a 14-inch package. Its AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS and Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU combination delivers outstanding performance for a laptop of its size. Its compact form factor, combined with a comfortable keyboard and discrete ventilation system, ensures an excellent gaming experience on the go. Its 14-inch 120 Hz IPS-level display offers sharp visuals and vibrant colors, making it an excellent choice for gamers on the move. However, its price may be a deterrent for some, as it falls squarely in the premium category.
In conclusion, the age of gaming laptops sees significant advancements in both power and portability, making it easier than ever to find the perfect gaming laptop for your needs, whether you're looking for top-tier performance or a more budget-friendly option. The key is to find a balance between specs, build quality, and overall comfort to enjoy the best possible gaming experience.
Already, Asus had a hit on its hands with the previous versions of the G14 laptops. With the company deciding to revamp the compact laptop concept for the 2024 G14 model, we were eager to find out just how significant an improvement a few millimeters in size reduction would be. Our curiosity was piqued when we discovered the new Zephyrus, which proved to be the finest 14-inch gaming laptop available at the time and, remarkably, one of the best laptops you could acquire for its size overall. Despite its small size, it manages to house up to an RTX 4070 and an AMD Ryzen R9-8945HS, making it surprisingly lightweight. Although the top-end GPU isn't as powerful as in previous generations, the system still performs well thanks to the latest AMD CPU and DLSS assistance. It feels robust and features a great keyboard and a decent trackpad. The back features a customizable light strip, which can be tailored to your preferences in terms of brightness or silence. It also boasts a vibrant and stunning OLED screen with thin bezels, which makes viewing your content a pleasurable experience.
The laptop retails for $1,600, but can reach an MSRP of around $2,000 when you opt for more RAM and a more powerful GPU. Given that the laptop has soldered-on memory, you'll likely need to pay the higher price if you expect to continue gaming on it even a few years down the line.
Top-Notch Deluxe Gaming Laptop
Razer Blade 16 (2024)
You've probably heard it countless times, but the Razer Blade 16 continues to be one of the best gaming laptops on the market, provided you don't mind the high price tag for a portable gaming rig capable of fitting into your backpack. The 2024 revision introduces a new OLED screen, which may not be the brightest on the market, but it's exceptionally fast at 240 Hz. Despite its size, it's not lightweight due to the inclusion of an RTX 4090 laptop GPU at the pinnacle and a 14th-gen Intel Core i9 14900HX.
The laptop feels well-constructed and offers all the ports you'll need for gaming and some light graphic work. However, its main drawbacks are its keyboard and trackpad. While the former is decent, the latter is less than ideal, specifically in terms of palm rejection.
If you want to push every game in your Steam library to its limits, the Blade 16 is capable, but the cost isn't cheap. It starts at $3,000, but the higher configurations can easily exceed $4,000. That represents a significant budget stretch and may deter a large segment of potential buyers. However, there are several high-quality budget gaming PCs you can consider as alternatives.
Best Budget Gaming Laptop
Acer Nitro V15
Determining the worth of a "budget gaming laptop" can be challenging, given the wide range of machines that could be classified as such. Anything below $1,500 is considered cheap for a laptop-based gaming PC. Yet, as you scale back the CPU and GPU, you eventually reach a point where performance falls short on today's moderately demanding games.
Acer offers a solid line of cheaper gaming laptops, led by their Nitro series, which includes the Nitro V15. It's a strong offering, starting below $1,000, and boasts an excellent 144 Hz display that can be upgraded to a 165 Hz refresh rate with an additional investment. The base model features an Intel Core i5-13420H and an RTX 4050. By spending more, you can upgrade to an RTX 4060. A 32 GB RAM configuration is also available for $1,200.
The laptop delivers solid performance, but its graphics power falls short in terms of usability. It has a mediocre keyboard and a trackpad that feels rough, more like sandpaper than glass. The display quality is acceptable but poor battery life is a drawback. However, if your primary concern is frame rate, the Nitro V15 is hard to fault for its value within its price range.
Best Stealth Gaming Laptop
Asus TUF Gaming A 14
Asus' TUF line of laptops is less flamboyant than the Republic of Gamers brand, but it shouldn't be underestimated. This unassuming gaming machine, with an AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 chip and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, offers powerful performance in a compact and rugged package. It features a solid construction and a surprisingly responsive keyboard. If discretion is a priority, the TUF A14 is an excellent choice, offering strong performance across various demanding titles without drawing unwanted attention to itself.
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE delivers a gaming-like experience without draining your bank account excessively, with its entry price point of $650. It boasts a 120 Hz display, ideal for both Xbox Game Pass and GeForce Now, and an RGB keyboard that emulates the full gaming laptop experience through its light-up keys.
In the interim, it's worth looking into various other cloud gaming alternatives. The extensive library of Steam Deck-like portable gaming consoles is an excellent choice if you're a controller enthusiast. On the other hand, your smartphone could just as well function as a viable option. As a matter of fact, most laptops with robust Wi-Fi connectivity should suffice. before leaping towards chromeOS-based devices, which may not meet all your expectations relative to a Windows setup.
Optimal Mac for Gamers on the Verge of Despair
MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro
Although Macs lack the gaming prowess of Windows machines, there have been recent advancements, such as the introduction of a Windows-like game mode and an increase in the availability of big-budget titles on macOS.
Given this, Apple has endeavored to attract more high-profile game titles to its macOS ecosystem. Although Frostpunk 2 and a few other games debuted on Mac at launch, Cyberpunk 2077 is scheduled to arrive on macOS in 2025. With the MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro, you can acquire a powerful MacBook equipped with commendable GPU specifications. The M4 Max chip is even rumored to possess strong gaming capabilities. In our tests, the less expensive M4 Pro managed to run demanding games like Resident Evil 4 and Baldur’s Gate III on high settings, maintaining 60 FPS with minimal concessions.
As with any Apple product, the MacBook Pro 16's functionality is unmatched. However, you may still find yourself lacking in the department of native game titles or titles capable of pushing the hardware to its limits. In this event, look into communities such as r/macgaming, which has amassed resources over the years to transport certain titles to the Mac ecosystem. While gaming on Windows or Linux-based systems may not be as straightforward, it is nonetheless achievable for the dedicated few.
In the future, advanced technologies like Nvidia's DLSS or AMD's FidelityFX will continue to enhance gaming experiences on laptops, allowing them to rival desktop performances. (from the original text)
Gamers searching for budget-friendly options should consider compromises, such as opting for devices with diminutive keyboards or cloud gaming services that offer strong displays and robust Wi-Fi connectivity. (new sentence)
Reviews of the upcoming 2024 G14 model predict that it will be one of the best 14-inch gaming laptops, offering outstanding performance and portability. (new sentence)
