The best gaming laptops on the market have had a terrific year. The performance difference between this year’s models and last year’s models is remarkable, thanks to the introduction of Nvidia RTX 40-Series graphics cards and new-generation processors.
Obviously, these systems can provide the power of a desktop machine while remaining portable. True fantastic gaming laptops, on the other hand, manage to accomplish so while remaining cool, matching price to performance value, and packing a high-quality display within their expenses. These are the types of computers we’re looking for, and after comprehensive testing, we’ve identified the models you should be aware of this year.
Purists will claim that you need a PC to fully play games, especially if you enjoy pushing the levels of visual fidelity beyond what a gaming console can do. To accomplish this, the gaming desktop remains king, especially when it comes to having the components and horsepower required to run 4K games smoothly and support virtual reality (VR) installations. But if you want or need something you can carry about the house or to a friend’s house, we can help you find the best gaming laptop.
As we evaluate new models, our list of favorites changes. We’ve divided our selections into three categories: cheap (under $1,200), midrange (between $1,200 and $2,000), and high-end ($2,000 and over). For those looking for a more desktop-like experience, we have prepared alternative big-screen recommendations in each of these categories. Previously, we only saw 14-, 15.6-, and 17.3-inch laptops, but now we’re seeing 16- and 18-inch devices as well, so categorizing by specific size is too burdensome. Smaller 14-inch gaming laptops fall into the “ultraportable gaming” category, and we’ve also included a few favorites for more specialized use cases like content creation and cloud gaming.
If the base model is priced lower, we may designate a model in a different price class than the one in which it was tested. Also, given the silicon shortages and supply-chain concerns that have plagued the industry since the epidemic began, the budget class witnessed some price inflation through 2022 into 2023. Previously, we would have established a hard limit of $999 for budget gaming computers, but prices at the lower end of this sector are rising. As a result, we’ve raised the price limit for this type of gaming machine.
The best gaming laptops on the market have had a terrific year. The performance difference between this year’s models and last year’s models is remarkable, thanks to the introduction of Nvidia RTX 40-Series graphics cards and new-generation processors. Obviously, these systems can provide the power of a desktop machine while remaining portable. True fantastic gaming laptops, on the other hand, manage to accomplish so while remaining cool, matching price to performance value, and packing a high-quality display within their expenses. These are the types of computers we’re looking for, and after comprehensive testing, we’ve identified the models you should be aware of this year.