Are you a passionate gamer, but also have to travel a lot? Maybe you just don't have enough space for a full sized gaming PC setup? Then a slim and compact gaming laptop is probably the right thing for you. Let's take a look at the current top 5 gaming laptops.
We've already looked at the best gaming mice, the best gaming keyboards, and the best gaming headsets, but what about those of you who don't have a powerful PC or an awesome console setup? If you travel a lot or are short on space but still love to game, you might want to check out gaming laptops. If you simply type "gaming laptop" into Google, you'll be overwhelmed with lots of offers, strange numerical names and specs that might not mean anything at first. To make the selection a bit easier for you, we have rummaged through the internet and compiled a top 5 of our favorite gaming laptops.
Since we don't want to go into too much detail in our article, we have picked out 5 great gaming laptops to help you decide what to buy. A small warning beforehand: We have gathered some of the most powerful laptops we could find and have not taken the price into consideration. Therefore, the products suggested here are all powerful, versatile and definitely worth the money, but they aren't exactly cheap.
The Best Gaming Laptops
Below, we present our top 5 gaming laptops in no particular order.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 With An RTX 3070: The Lightweight
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 not only convinces with its performance, but especially with its weight. At only 1.9 kg, the device is pretty damn light for a gaming laptop, and thus, perfectly suited for gamers who like to take their gaming station with them everywhere. With the i9-11900H processor and an RTX 3070 graphics card, the M16 offers decent performance that is not only sufficient for gaming, video editing is also no problem for this powerhouse. Also interesting for fans of good pictures is the monitor with a resolution of 2560x1600 and a refresh rate of 165 Hz. So, those who like to play fast-paced shooters will get their money's worth here. However, all this combined with the low weight also has its price. Depending on where you look, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 with RTX 3070 costs around 2,999 euros. If you are also satisfied with an RTX 3060, an i7-11800H processor and only 8 GB of RAM, you can also get it for 2,299 Euros.
Here is an overview of the most important specs:
- Display: 16 Inch, 2560x1600 Pixels IPS, 165 Hz
- Processor: Intel Core i9-11900H, 8x 2,50 GHz (Turbo: up to 4,90 GHz)
- RAM: 32 GB DDR4-3200 / 2,0 TB SSD M.2 NVMe
- Graphic card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB
- Price: ca. 2.999 Euro
Razer Blade 15 Advanced with a RTX 3070: The Hertz-Monster
The Razer Blade 15 Advanced is one of the strongest gaming laptops out there, if not the strongest in the market. With a resolution of 2560x1440 at 240 Hz and up to 360 Hz at Full HD, the laptop offers a ridiculously high refresh rate. To get enough frames together, the Razer Blade 15 Advanced features an Intel Core i7-11800H processor, an RTX 3070 and a whopping 16 GB of RAM. Despite these monster components, the laptop remains surprisingly light at only 2 kg. Add to that the immaculate design of the sleek aluminum chassis, which features surprisingly few gaming bells and whistles for Razer except for the keyboard backlight. All in all, the Razer Blade 15 advanced with the RTX 3070 is a fierce gaming behemoth that should run any current game on ultra and super smooth. However, Razer also charges quite a bit for it with a whopping 2,899 Euros...
Here is an overview of the most important specs:
- Display: 15.6 Inches, 2560x1440 Pixels IPS, 240 Hz
- Processor: Intel Core i7-11800H, 8x/16x Cores, 2,3 GHz (Turbo: up to 4,6 GHz)
- RAM: 16 GB DDR4-3200 / 1024 GB SSD M.2 NVMe
- Graphic card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB
- Price: ca. 2,899 Euro
XMG Neo 15: The Graphics Beast
The 2021 version of the XMG Neo 15 impresses with enormous performance. It is the only gaming laptop on our list with a RTX 3080 with 16 GB - so if this is the laptop for you, you'll have some top of the line graphics power. Especially in combination with the AMD Ryzen 7 5900HX processor – there is no faster laptop available. The XMG NEO 15 will make any gamer's heart beat faster. Add to that a WQHD display with 165 Hz, I mean what more could you want. With the XMG Neo 15, you're definitely well-equipped for all current games – it can easily compete with a desktop PC. Of course, this gaming power also costs a lot of money. In the configuration listed below, you'll have to pay about 2,660 Euros (less than the Razer Blade 15). You can also exchange individual components in the store. If you are also satisfied with an RTX 3070, for example, the price drops by about 500 Euros.
Here is an overview of the most important specs:
- Display: 15.6 Inches, 2560×1440 Pixels IPS, 165 Hz
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5900HX, 8/16 cores at 3,30 GHz (Turbo: up to 4,60 GHz)
- RAM: 16 GB DDR4-3200/ 1 TB SSD M.2 NVMe Samsung 970
- Graphic card: Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080 16 GByte
- Price: ca. 2,660 euros
Lenovo Legion 5: The Bargain
The Lenovo Legion 5 is our cheapest gaming laptop choice. However, that does not mean that it is weak. You get an AMD Ryzen 5 5800H CPU that offers decent power in combination with the RTX 3070. The 16 GB DDR4 RAM is not bad either. However, we have to cut back on the display, which only offers full HD at 144 Hz - but that is sufficient for gaming in our opinion. Furthermore, the display is by far the largest on our list at 17.3 inches. Of course, the size also pushes the weight up a bit, which is why the Lenovo Legion 5 weighs a hefty 2.5 kg. But let's get to the best part, the price. At currently around 1,399 euros, the gaming laptop from Lenovo is considerably cheaper than the machines we have listed so far.
Here is an overview of the most important specs:
- Display: 17.3 inches, 1920x1080 pixels, 144 Hz
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5800H, 6x 3,20 GHz (Turbo: up to 4,40 GHz)
- RAM: 32 GB DDR4-3200 / 1024 GB SSD M.2 NVMe
- Graphic card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB
- Price: ca. 1,399 euros
Asus TUF Gaming A15 with a RTX 3070: Great Price-Performance
And finally, our price-performance tip. A bit more expensive than the Lenovo Legion 5, but with a faster CPU. The Asus TUF Gaming A15 offers decent gaming power with the combination of AMD Ryzen 7 5800H and RTX 3070. Yes, the graphics card only has 95 watts, but it still delivers and with the 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, you are also well-equipped on this front. Like the Lenovo, however, we have to settle for a full HD display and 144 Hz. In summary, we can say that those who value performance and are willing to make sacrifices in terms of the display and the case, which is mainly made of plastic, will get a decent gaming laptop for about 1,550 euros.
Here is an overview of the most important specs::
- Display: 15.6 inches, 1920x1080 pixels, 144 Hz
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, 8/16x 3,20 GHz (Turbo: up to 4,40 GHz)
- RAM: 16 GB DDR4-3200 / 1024 GB SSD M.2 NVMe
- Graphic card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB (95 Watt)
- Price: ca. 1,550 euros
What Makes a Good Gaming Laptop?
If you are looking for a good gaming laptop, you might wonder what you actually have to look out for. In principle, the decisive features do not differ much from a desktop PC. Important for gaming are a powerful CPU and graphics card, as well as enough RAM (16 GB for sure). Whether it is AMD, Intel or NVIDIA is a matter of taste, but it should be one of the latest models. If you value a good and smooth picture, you should make sure that the laptop has a WQHD display with at least 144 Hz - 165 Hz is even better.From here on, it's all about personal preference. If you are on the go a lot, it is worth paying attention to the weight, since gaming laptops can easily weigh up to 3 kg due to the powerful components. Ventilation and, connected to that, the noise level can also be decisive for a purchase decision. However, features like particularly quiet ventilation or low weight usually mean a decent price premium. The same is true for the storage space. We definitely recommend an M.2 NVMe SSD with at least 1000 GB because they are especially fast and load your operating system, as well as games, much faster. Of course, you can expand the storage as much as you want, as there is nothing against buying an external hard drive later.We hope that our list of the best gaming laptops 2021 will help you with your purchase decision. If we have forgotten your absolute favorite, please let us know on Discord. If you are still looking for more gaming accessories, we might have something for you here:
