The best gaming laptop changes a lot throughout the year. The early days of mobile gaming were largely desktop replacements — clunky chassis, multiple power bricks, and RGB lighting galore. But the top contenders now are different. Manufacturers are finally putting powerful specs in thin gaming machines: sleeker, more portable, and more professional builds. They have excellent, fast, refreshing screens necessary for a great gaming experience. These laptops aren’t just great for gaming and everyday work.
The best gaming laptop of 2023 is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It can handle the most demanding games on the market today, it’s portable, and it also makes a great daily driver. Other good options are the Razer Blade 16 and the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro. One more thing to keep in mind is the power you can expect. Not all chips with the same name are created equal — the RTX 3070 in one laptop may not deliver the same frame rates as the RTX 3070 in another laptop due to its wattage (as well as other factors like the processor and cooling). Nvidia now requires companies to disclose clock speeds and graphics power on each model’s product page, but many manufacturers haven’t done that yet.
Out of the many gaming laptops we test each year, here are the ones that make the list. Check out our best laptop page if you want a more multipurpose device. If you’re an Android gamer, we’ve also got a list of the best Chromebooks you can buy.
What we’re looking for
Value: Gaming laptops are expensive overall, but we’re still looking for devices that offer great value for their asking price. The more expensive a device, the more exceptional it has to be to make it on here.
Frame rates: We like gaming laptops that can run the latest and greatest titles at their highest settings without compromising quality or resolution.
Screen: We like high resolutions that make games look vivid and have high refresh rates that can showcase the full power of a gaming laptop’s chips.
Port selection: Laptops with very few ports are okay in some categories, but not on this page. Gamers must often plug peripherals like mice, keyboards, and monitors into their devices. We expect the best gaming laptops to accommodate them.
Storage: Gaming laptops need more storage than other PC categories since games take up much space. At least 512GB is essential; at least 1TB is ideal.
We try to keep our picks as current as possible. Still, we may include an older device over its newer generation if we feel the newer generation is a significant downgrade. We rarely recommend devices that are more than two years old.
Best Gaming Laptops
1. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
2. Razer Blade 16
3. Lenovo Legion 5 Pro
4. MSI GE76 Raider
5. Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition
6. Razer Blade 14
7. Razer Blade 18
8. Asus ROG Flow Z13
