See all our top picks
1. Best overall | Blade 14
2. Best midrange| Legion 5 Slim 14
3. Best budget | Katana 15
The best gaming laptop is going to give you the best performance on the go for all the latest games, whether it's Cyberpunk 2077 and Helldivers 2, or indie darlings like Sucker for Love: First Date.
The Razer Blade 14, our top pick for the best gaming laptop in 2024, can do all of that and more while offering a fantastic display, stylish design, and a surprisingly decent battery life for a gaming laptop.
Our top picks
Top 3 picks by budget
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These are my picks for the best premium, midrange, and budget gaming laptops, each offering fantastic performance for their respective prices.
The best gaming laptop, period.
The Razer Blade 14 offers the perfect balance of performance, price, and portability with an iconic design that's made the Blade 14 one of the most popular gaming laptops in the world. It won't give you desktop replacement-level performance, but for gaming on the go, it's as good as it gets.
The best midrange gaming laptop
While it might not pack the same kind of hardware found in more expensive gaming laptops, the Lenovo Legion 5 Slim showed powerful gaming performance in our tests, and for the price, you really can't do better if you're looking to spend less than two grand.
The best budget gaming laptop
For less than a grand, we were surprised by how strong the Katana 15's 1080p performance was in our testing, making it a fantastic gaming laptop for those on a tighter budget. It's not perfect, especially when it comes to battery life, but it will play the latest AAA titles at 1080p on high settings with ease.
Recent updates
April 2, 2024
I added the Razer Blade 14 as my top pick for the best laptop of 2024.
John (He/Him) is TechRadar's Components Editor and has been reviewing computer hardware with TechRadar for several years. As our component lead, he is responsible for testing any and all components that hit the market, including GPUs, CPUs, storage drives, and more. He has extensively tested all of the external hard drives on this list, and chose each based on these test results as the best in their category.
Other picks to consider
While our top three covers the bulk of the gaming laptop market, there are some other fantastic gaming laptops out there for you to consider.
The best custom-design gaming laptop
In addition to getting some high-end hardware like an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU and Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU, this gaming laptop from Origin PC lets you pick from more than a dozen different lid designs and they'll even work with you to include your own custom design for the lid.
The best affordable midrange laptop
Midrange laptops generally keep things between one to two grand, and this Acer Nitro 16 gets you some great midrange configuration options for slightly more than you'd pay for the best budget gaming laptops, though it does come at the price of upgradability down the road.
The best desktop replacement
If you're looking for a gaming laptop that will outperform many of the best gaming PCs, then look no further. The Titan is an absolute monster with 4K display and an RTX 4090 GPU to power the best PC games at 4K with few compromises — other than its obscenely high price.
How to choose the best gaming laptop for you
1080p: Nvidia RTX 4050/4060 GPU
1440p: Nvidia RTX 4070/4080 GPU
2160p: Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU
Selecting the best gaming laptop is straightforward if you have a substantial budget, but finding a high-quality gaming laptop becomes more challenging with limited funds. Fortunately, the market now offers more budget-friendly CPUs and GPUs that don't skimp on power.
For all resolutions, 16GB RAM and at least 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD storage is recommended. 8GB RAM isn't going to be enough for gaming, and many modern PC titles can use up 100GB of storage, so 512GB might not be enough for your game library. You'll also need an Intel Core i5 or Core 5 processor, or an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, at minimum, but an Intel Core i7/Core 7/Core 7 Ultra processor or the AMD Ryzen 7 equivalent is recommended.
For 1080p gaming, to get 60 fps on most games at their highest settings, you'll need at least an Nvidia RTX 4050 or AMD Radeon RX 7600M GPU, though an Nvidia RTX 4060 or AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT is preferred.
For 1440p gaming, to get 60 fps on most games on max graphical settings, you'll need to make sure you have at least an Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU, though an RTX 4080 is better, and for AMD, a Radeon RX 7900M will be enough for 1440p gaming.
For 2160p (4K) gaming, you'll need a bare minimum of an Nvidia RTX 4080 or AMD RX 7900M GPU, but to ensure that you're getting consistent 60 fps on most modern PC titles, you're going to need an Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU.
Which component matters most for gaming laptops?
While all components play their part in your gaming experience, the GPU is the one component most directly tied to how many frames per second you'll be able to get for a given resolution, so this should be your focus, with RAM and CPU following after, then storage. You won't need more than a 1440p display for the most part, and a 1080p display on a laptop is more than enough for a great gaming experience.
Is it worth it to get a gaming laptop?
Definitely. The gap between gaming PCs and mobile devices has significantly narrowed, as laptops have become both more compact and more powerful. If you're looking for a device that saves space and offers portability, yet still packs enough power to handle everything from less demanding games to the most graphically-intensive titles, one of the top gaming laptops should be on your list.
How we tested these gaming laptops
☑️ 100s of gaming laptops reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech
Evaluating a gaming laptop is more complex than it might seem, much like the process of choosing the right one. We approach this task with the utmost seriousness, even if it involves extensive gaming – a necessary sacrifice, of course.
In our rigorous testing process, every gaming laptop undergoes thorough evaluation to ensure it lives up to its promises and justifies your investment. This involves not only playing the latest and most popular games to assess gaming and thermal performance but also conducting synthetic benchmarks like PCMark 10, 3DMark, and Geekbench 5, along with battery life tests.
We also scrutinize the laptop's peripherals. This includes checking the display's quality and response time, the comfort and responsiveness of the keyboard, the availability and variety of ports, the overall design, and the webcam's performance for potential game streaming use.
Finally, we weigh all these factors against the laptop's price. We assess if its performance and features justify the cost and whether it offers the best value to customers.
The best gaming laptops in 2024: In-depth
The best gaming laptops in 2024
Below you'll find full write-ups for each of the best gaming laptop in our list. We've tested each one extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.
The best gaming laptop overall
✅ You want a thin and light gaming laptop: This laptop weighs surprisingly little for its specs and can fit into most bags and be carried around with ease.
✅ You want top performance: For its size, the performance is great, scoring high on every benchmark as well as offering solid frame rates at even the highest settings.
❌ You’re on a budget: Razer laptops are not meant for those without excess cash flow and this model is no exception.
❌ You want a better battery life: For gaming purposes, the battery life is not good in the slightest – keep this laptop plugged in unless you’re doing office work.
Sure, it might be very expensive, but the new Razer Blade 14 is just a thing of beauty; a compact, quiet, durable, and powerful gaming laptop that ticks just about every box. Top-notch internal components are joined by an incredibly bright and vivid screen, with the classic machined metal chassis that has come to define the aesthetic of the Blade laptop line.
What's even better here is that despite its thin and light chassis, it boasts excellent gaming performance that's comparable to similarly-specced yet less portable gaming laptops. During our usual round of testing and benchmarking, it felt like its CPU and GPU worked better in tandem, surpassing other laptops in performance with something like Cyberpunk 2077 on high settings. In Marvel’s Spider-Man, its framerate didn't even dip below 75fps even under the highest possible settings.
Also for a thin laptop, it's got impressive cooling. That is, even though it did heat up during intense gaming sessions in our testing, it never suffered noticeable stuttering, freezing, or slowing down, meaning that you can push it like you would other laptops without getting frustrated. You might be disappointed by the battery life, though. Rated at 10 hours, it typically hovers around the eight-hour mark when used for productivity work. Sadly, that is cut down to at most half when you're gaming on it.
Read the full Razer Blade 14 (2023) review
The best thin and light gaming laptop
✅ You want an easy-to-carry laptop: The 14-inch screen and uncumbersome weight makes this laptop extremely easy to carry around.
✅ You want great performance: For its size, the performance is great, scoring well on every benchmark an offering solid frame rates at even the highest settings.
❌ You want a better webcam: The webcam in this is pretty average, especially if you plan on using it to livestream.
❌ You want ray tracing: Though general performance is quite good, it doesn't play nice with ray tracing options.
For those who want it all, the Lenovo Legion 5 Slim 14 delivers in nearly every category including size, price, performance, and aesthetic. The Legion 5 Slim 14 is an excellent budget laptop that’s ridiculously portable thanks to its 14-inch display and lightweight form factor. The pricing is especially affordable compared to most other gaming laptops on the market this generation.
The Legion 5 Slim 14 already starts with an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU that can be upgraded to a Ryzen 9, and the GPU goes up to the RTX 4060, meaning that both productivity and gaming performance are high. The latter especially, as both benchmark scores and general framerate are excellent, and we found that we could max out settings in any AAA title we tested it with. It also performed well in non-gaming benchmarks, meaning it can handle creative and editing projects just fine. Its gorgeous display supports both gaming and creative work thanks to its excellent resolution, 100%DCI-P3 color gamut, HDR support, up to 500 nits of brightness, and 120Hz refresh rate.
However, there are a few caveats to keep in mind. One is its less-than-stellar ray tracing performance – as soon as you enable it the framerate on any title plummets. Its battery life is another oddity, as it tends to be wildly inconsistent depending on what tasks are performed on the laptop. And finally, despite it being lightweight and small, it’s a little on the thicker side.
Read the full Lenovo Legion 5 Slim 14 review
The best budget gaming laptop
✅ You want good 1080p performance: This laptop is more than capable of playing the latest PC games at full HD.
✅ You’re looking for your first gaming laptop: While not the most stylish, its performance is ideal for first-time buyers.
❌ You want the best of the best: With the entry-level specs, don't expect to get top-tier performance.
❌ You care about portability: This laptop is a bit on the heavy side, so don't expect to carry it around much.
The MSI Katana 15 (2023) brings accessible 1080p gaming in a laptop, especially for those not keen on spending over $1,000 for a gaming device. Resembling the bold designs of pre-pandemic gaming laptops, it focuses on essential gaming performance. It's a top choice for budget gamers, despite some style and battery compromises. Priced starting at $999, it features a 13th-Gen Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, and a 1TB SSD, outperforming similarly priced laptops with older specs.
Alternatives like the Acer Nitro 5, with slightly older components, offer cheaper but less powerful options. The MSI Katana 15 also has pricier versions, with the highest model at $1,899, offering an Intel Core i9, 32GB of RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 4070, though still limited to a 1080p display. Configurations vary by region, with different processor generations and price points.
Despite its bulk and dated design, the Katana 15 prioritizes gaming performance. Its thermal design effectively cools both CPU and GPU. Performance-wise, it impresses, handling demanding games like Control and Far Cry 6 smoothly, with minor adjustments needed for games like Cyberpunk 2077. The Katana 15, while not without its limitations, offers a balanced gaming experience, showcasing how it effectively blends power and affordability.
Read the full MSI Katana 15 (2023) review
The best custom-design gaming laptop
✅ You want a thin and light gaming laptop: It weighs surprisingly little for its specs and can easily carry around.
✅ You want great performance: Performance scores high on every benchmark with high frame rates at highest settings.
❌ You want a better webcam: The webcam is pretty average, so not great for livestreaming.
❌ You want a better ventilation system: It mostly warm, but it will run hot under stress.
There aren't many build-to-order gaming laptops out there, but the Origin EON 16SL is easily the best of them, with a strong balance between performance, form factor, and reasonable pricing, all of which are competitive or superior to similar laptops on the market. Its aesthetics also set it apart from other gaming laptops, as its front plate can be completely customized to your liking.
Our review unit performed incredibly well thanks to its solid specs, which got us to hit more than 90 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 on high settings at 1080p, and well over 60fps with ‘Ray Tracing Overdrive.’ The 16-inch display is QHD+ with an incredible 240Hz refresh rate, ensuring that gameplay is smooth and stutter-free.
As excellent as the Origin EON 16SL is, it does have two issues. The first is an absolutely average webcam, which requires great lighting for decent image quality, and the ventilation, while solid for normal gaming sessions, isn’t perfect and can rapidly heat up on the underside during intense and long sessions.
Read the full Origin EON 16SL review
The best lower-midrange gaming laptop
✅ You’re a competitive gamer: The RTX 4050 GPU and 165Hz refresh rate are great for eSports.
✅ You're on a tight-ish budget: You won’t spend a lot to get decent gaming performance, especially at 1080p.
❌ You value portability: This is one very bulky gaming laptop.
❌ You’re tired of the 'gamer' aesthetic: A lot of great laptops have dated, 'gamer' designs, but this one is a bit more dated than some others.
With an outstanding mix of specs, speedy display, and fantastic price for its midrange configuration, the Acer Nitro 16 is one of the best laptops for gaming for those with enough money to do a midrange machine, but only just barely.
The Nitro 16 will get you excellent 1080p gaming performance, especially thanks to a speedy 165Hz display that makes it perfect for esports and other competitive titles. Not a lot of gaming laptops for under $1,500/£1,500/AU$2,100 can say that.
Still, there are trade-offs, and the more aggressive 'gamer' design on the Nitro 16 really could have used more innovation rather than stick with what gaming laptops have been doing for the past several years. It's webcam isn't great either, and it's a rather bulky machine to the point where it might have been a desktop replacement if it had better specs. Still, if you're looking just past the 'budget' horizon for your next gaming laptop, this is an excellent choice.
Read the full Acer Nitro 16 review
The best desktop replacement gaming laptop
✅ You want the best gaming performance around: With an Intel Core i9-13980HX and an Nvidia RTX 4090 mobile GPU and DLSS 3, no game will put up much of a fight here, even at 4K.
✅ You want lots of customization options: With per-key, lid-logo, and accent RGB, you can really get that gamer twinkly light look exactly to your liking.
❌ You want something affordable: The price of this laptop puts it out of reach of just about everyone reading this review.
❌ You want something portable: Better get a donkey if you want to cart this one around.
If you’re looking for a contender for the most powerful gaming laptop to replace your old desktop, the MSI GT77 Titan has the competition beat. It comes with the latest in specs, including a 13th-gen Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4080 12GB Laptop GPU.
Its display is a ridiculous 4K resolution with a 144Hz refresh rate, and as we tested this behemoth we found that PC games never looked and moved better. The cherry on top are that this laptop comes with a Mini DisplayPort output and, according to our tests, the battery life is okay for a gaming laptop like this at about four and a half hours. It does charge fast, so that’s another positive to add.
There are some caveats we found, however. The biggest one is the sheer size of this behemoth, which weighs over seven pounds. You will never move this laptop off your desk, it’s the truest form of desktop replacement. And thanks to its size, it sounds like a jet engine. Cost is also an issue, but if money isn’t a problem then you can’t go wrong investing in this exceptionally powerful laptop.
Read the full MSI GT77 Titan (2023) review
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