The gaming laptop is a special thing. A device packing desktop-level gaming performance into a machine that’s a fraction of the size. Of course, this does come with some compromises, including the cooling necessary to maintain high frame rates in the latest games—in short, they can be real loud—but the main thing is they’re often so much more expensive than an equivalent desktop gaming PC. Which is why we’re here to deliver you the best gaming laptop deals to help save a buck or three.

There are new RTX 50-series GPUs for laptops on the shelves now, and we’re starting to find them with tasty discounts already. It’s still worth considering some RTX 40-series machines, though, especially as we’re seeing the little stock that’s left occasionally dropping to very reasonable prices.

There are quite a few overpriced ones running around, though, so be sure to cross reference them with our other deals here to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. RTX 4060 machines can still be found for prices that make no sense, so beware—but the RTX 4070 still makes for a great mobile GPU, so laptops using one are still well worth considering.

Below, we’ve curated a selection of the best budget-friendly gaming laptop deals we’ve spotted online. Remember that this list isn’t exhaustive, but these are the gaming laptop deals we believe are worth your money. And check back regularly because the best gaming laptops tend to fly off the shelves when they go on sale. And if you’ve decided you’re more into getting yourself a desktop bargain, we’ve compiled a list of the best cheap gaming PC deals, too.

💻 RTX 5060 – HP Omen 16 | $1,300 @ HP

💻 RTX 4070 – Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 | $1,199 @ Amazon

💻 RTX 5070 – Lenovo Legion 5i | $1,600 @ Lenovo

💻 RTX 5070 Ti – MSI Vector 16 HX AI | $1,800 @ Best Buy

💻 RTX 5080 – MSI Vector 16 HX AI | $2,460 @ Newegg

Under $1,000

Price watch: 🔽

Lenovo LOQ | RTX 4060 | Core i5 13450HX | 15.6-inch | 1080p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD | $999 $749.99 at B&H Photo (save $350)

Even with new Nvidia laptop GPUs on the market, it’ll probably be a while before we see sub-$1,000 mobile RTX 50-series machines. So for those saving the pennies, this RTX 4060-sporting Lenovo is still a good deal. It’s got a decently speedy screen, 16 GB of DDR5, a 115 W TGP GPU, and, err, a very small SSD. Still, it’s the easiest thing to upgrade in a mobile machine, and at this price it’s very difficult to find more gaming laptop for your buck. Price check: Amazon $1,269 (Core i7 13650HX)

$1,000–$1,500

Price watch: ➖

Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 | RTX 4070 | Core Ultra 7 155H | 14-inch | 1600p | 120 Hz | 16 GB LPDDR5X | 1 TB SSD | $1,299 $1,199 at Amazon (save $100)

With a 110 W version of the RTX 4070, with wee Acer machine has plenty of grunt about it, and that 120 Hz refresh 1600p panel will make a really crisp screen for a 14-inch laptop. You’re also getting a full 1 TB SSD alongside your 16 GB of soldered memory (no upgrades happening there) and a decent Meteor Lake CPU at its heart. It’s one of Intel’s more efficient chips, with six Performance and eight Efficient cores, which ought to help with the battery life of this portable machine.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!

HP Omen 16 | RTX 5060 | Ryzen AI 7 350 | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,799.99 $1,299.99 at HP (save $500)

RTX 4070 gaming laptops have all but disappeared from the listings, and we can all be very sad about that. However, while this RTX 5060 machine won’t have the same raw grunt as that venerable laptop GPU as old, it does have the benefit of DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation support. Plus, while the 1200p screen is perhaps not the most exciting spec in the world, it does mean the little RTX 5060 shouldn’t have to work too hard to make the most of that speedy panel. The TGP of the GPU remains a mystery (thanks, HP), but I’d say there’s a decent chance it’s a mid-powered variant given the 16-inch chassis, which should balance nicely with the rest of the specs here.

Price check: Newegg $1,299.99

Price watch: NEW DEAL!

Alienware 16X Aurora | RTX 5060 | Core Ultra 9 275H | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,799.99 $1,399.99 at Best Buy (save $400)

We saw a lower-chipped version of this Alienware lappy dip to cheaper prices than this during the Prime Day sales, but this Core Ultra 9 version is still well worth a look for the cash. Ordinarily this’d be a bit much to pay for an RTX 5060-equipped machine with a discount, but here you’re getting a fire-breathing Intel CPU and 32 GB of RAM pre-installed, which is nice to see, along with a 240 Hz panel to make the most of the 115 W RTX 5060’s Multi Frame Gen chops.

Price check: Dell $1,599.99

$1,500+

Price watch: NEW DEAL!

Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 | RTX 5070 | Core Ultra 9 275HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,994.99 $1,599.99 at Lenovo (save $395)

If you want the 1 TB SSD-equipped version of this laptop, you’ll need to spec it in Lenovo’s configurator to get the price above. Once you’ve done that, though, what your left with is a very well-sorted mobile gaming machine with a 115 W RTX 5070 and a 24-core Intel chip combined with a speedy 1600p display, and a chassis we’re particularly fond of. Lenovo makes some great gaming laptops, and the Gen 10 Legion is definitely one of those.

Price check: Newegg $1,599.99

Price watch: NEW DEAL!

Asus ROG Strix G16 | RTX 5070 Ti | AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 165 Hz | 16 GB RAM | 1 TB SSD | $1,999.99 $1,649.99 at Best Buy (save $350)

With a 140 W RTX 5070 Ti and an AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX at its heart, this 16-inch lappy is a pretty powerful one for the price. It even manages to come in cheaper than some RTX 5070 choices out there—with a lot more RGB flair, if that’s your sort of thing. The refresh rate of 165 Hz is solid, and the 16 GB of RAM is… well, it’s just okay. However, it’s easily upgradable up to 64 GB, and the 1200p screen means the GPU will be given free rein to munch through your games. We saw this model going for slightly cheaper over the Prime Day sales, but this is still a good price for such a well-specced machine.

Price watch: 🔼

MSI Vector 16 HX AI | RTX 5070 Ti | Core Ultra 7 255HX | 16-inch | 1200p | 144 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $1,799.99 at Best Buy

Sitting somewhere under the RTX 4080 and well above the RTX 4070 in terms of gaming performance, the RTX 5070 Ti is a great mid-range laptop GPU. I’ve used the new Vector 16 HX AI for weeks, and have been hugely impressed with the RTX 5080 version, and the RTX 5070 Ti version promises much of the same. The 1200p IPS screen is a good match for the GPU and CPU, which is of 20-core Intel stock. Plus, this one comes with a 1 TB SSD, which is a darn sight better than the 512 GB variant we were finding at this price until recently.

Price check: Amazon $2,299.99 (32 GB variant)

Price watch: ➖

Razer Blade 14 (2025) | RTX 5070 | Ryzen AI 9 365 | 14-inch | 120 Hz OLED | 32 GB LPDDR5x-8000 | 1 TB SSD | $2,699.99 $2,299.99 at Razer (save $400)

Our Dave’s absolute favorite Razer gaming laptop is somehow still rocking a hefty $400 discount right now, proving that some Prime Day deals just keep going and going. In his Blade 14 review he said: “a huge improvement over last year’s model and there’s now no other gaming laptop I’d want to have my digits on or spend my money on.” And he stands by that. I just checked.

Price watch: ➖

MSI Vector 16 HX AI | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275 HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $2,459.99 at Newegg

I know, I know, it’s a lot of cash. But the truth is, it’s difficult to find RTX 50-series laptops for anything less than silly money right now, and this one’s got the big boi RTX 5080 for a just about reasonable sum, even if it has gone up a bit recently. Our Dave has been playing with this particular model recently and likes the value proposition you get when you take into account that mega GPU, although it is a bit of a hairdryer on full whack. Still, stick it in Balanced mode, and the noise is much more reasonable, and it still performs about as well as the other RTX 5080 machines we’ve tested. Which is to say, very well indeed. Price check: Best Buy $2,499.99

Price watch: NEW DEAL!

HP Omen Max 16 | RTX 5080 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 365 | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | $3,199.99 $2,699.99 at HP (save $500)

We reviewed the Intel-chipped version of the HP Omen Max 16, and found it good. Okay, it was a little inconsistent in the 1% lows, but that may have been down to early drivers and firmware. This one comes with a 10-core AMD chip with a huge amount of mobile grunt, a full-spec 175 W mobile RTX 5080, and an excellent 240 Hz IPS display. Which should make for quite the portable gaming machine, although it’s likely to be a loud beast—like most RTX 5080 laptops. Price check: Best Buy $2,849.99 (Core Ultra 9 275 HX)

Handheld gaming PCs

Price watch: ➖

Steam Deck (LCD) | 256 GB SSD | SteamOS | $399 at Steam

Okay, the Steam Deck may have had an OLED refresh and there are heaps of more powerful handhelds around, but the original version is still the archetype of what a mobile PC gaming device should be. It’s just as powerful as the OLED model, so all those Steam Deck compatible games should run well. It’s the OG PC gaming handheld, and it still demands respect, although this particular version does have quite a small SSD. Replacing it later with a larger unit is no great hassle, however.

Price watch: 🔼

Lenovo Legion Go | Z1 Extreme | 8.8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | $749.99 $599.99 at Best Buy (save $150)

The Legion Go is one of the more polished handhelds on the market, with a sleek 8.8-inch screen and detachable controllers. That screen is a little overkill for the lil’ AMD chip inside this machine, the Z1 Extreme also found in the ROG Ally, but it’s great for playing indies on while relaxing. One of the controllers also becomes a mouse if you need it, which is a bit of a gimmick but works pretty well. The main downside here is the small SSD, but it’s a pretty easy upgrade later on. Price check: Amazon $614.99

Price watch: NEW DEAL!

Lenovo Legion Go S Steam | Ryzen Z1 Extreme | 8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD | $829.99 at Best Buy

Our new favorite gaming handheld might not technically be on discount at the moment, but it’s still the best you can get thanks to its magnificent SteamOS integration. That’s one of the best things about the Steam Deck, too, but here you’re getting much more powerful hardware and a supremely comfortable chassis that makes the Legion Go S SteamOS an absolute delight to game on. Price check: Newegg $935

RTX 4060 laptops

RTX 4070 laptops

RTX 5080 laptops

AMD Strix Point laptops

UK gaming laptop deals

Price watch: ➖

Steam Deck LCD | SteamOS | 256 GB | £349 at Steam

There’s no deal on the Steam Deck right now, but since the launch of the OLED model, you can buy the mid-sized LCD for a good price. It’s still a wicked handheld, too, most of all because of its custom SteamOS operating system.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!

Acer Nitro 14 | RTX 4060 | Ryzen 7 8845HS | 14.5-inch | 1200p | 120 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-4800 | 512 GB SSD | $1,399 £849 at Currys (save £550)

With a 14-inch form factor and a 100 W variant of the RTX 4060 onboard, I reckon this machine would make a great little budget travel companion. Sure, the chassis isn’t the most premium, and it’s only got a 1200p screen, but it still makes a good match for this particular GPU. And the eight-core processor is no slouch, either. It’s a shame about the SSD size, but you can’t have everything for this sorta cash—and it’s simple enough to upgrade later on. Price check: Amazon £1,168.32

Price watch: ➖

Gigabyte Aorus 16X | RTX 4070 | Core i7 14650HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 165 Hz | 16 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD | £1,699 £1,199 at Currys (save £500)

Well lookee here, it’s that rarest of things—a 1600p, 140 W RTX 4070 gaming laptop deal in the UK from a major manufacturer for less than £1,300. Much less, actually, which makes this a very good shout for anyone looking for an RTX 4070 machine for less with very few drawbacks. I’d like to see some more RAM, but other than that it’s a corker.

Price watch: ➖

Gigabyte Aero X16 | RTX 5070 | Ryzen AI 7 350 | 16-inch | 1600p | 165 Hz | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD | £1,499 at Currys

The bad news here is you’re getting an 85 W variant of the RTX 5070. The good news is, it’s a very slim and svelte machine, and thanks to DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation, this sleek lappy should be able to pump frames (AI-generated or otherwise) at its 1600p 165 Hz display with aplomb. RTX 5070 machines are yet to see substantial discounts in the UK, but this one is definitely worth a look if you want to get on the DLSS 4 train for reasonable cash.

Price check: Amazon $1,499

Price watch: 🔽

MSI Vector 16 HX AI 16 | RTX 5070 Ti | Core Ultra 7 255HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 512 GB SSD | £1,899 £1,699 at Amazon (save £200)

We’ve been very impressed by the RTX 5080 version of this particular laptop for the value proposition it provides, and the RTX 5070 Ti variant is unlikely to be a slouch, either. While most RTX 50-series lappys are still priced into the stratosphere, this 16-inch machine is downright reasonable for the components you end up receiving. That’s apart from the SSD, unfortunately, which is far too small. Still, sticking a 1 TB drive in a laptop is one of the easier hardware tasks you can perform, and the rest of the components are pretty stellar for the cash.

Price watch: 🔽

MSI Vector 16 HX AI 16 | RTX 5080 | Core Ultra 9 275HX | 16-inch | 1600p | 240 Hz | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD | £2,799 £2,399 at Currys (save £400)

RTX 5080 machines are still eye-wateringly expensive for the most part, but we’re big fans of this Vector lappy, especially because of the price. It might not have the prettiest chassis, but it’s as fast as a very, very fast thing for much cheaper than the competition—with a speedy 240 Hz IPS panel thrown into the bargain, too. That makes it a genuine value proposition in a laptop market that’s still starved of stock and filled with extremely pricey equivalents. A smart buy right now, no doubt.

Price check: Amazon $2,883.90 (2 TB variant)

Below, you’ll find laptop deals from across the web that our specialized deal widget has sniffed out.

Q&A

Acer will bring its Predator Nitro series laptops with RTX 5050 GPUs as a replacement to the RTX 4050 powered options. While there is no release date as of yet, these RTX 5050 laptop GPUs will vary from 50W to 100W.

4 Reviews ← exclude selected types

Nvidia is said to expand its lineup of laptop GPUs with an entry-level option. The RTX 5050, while a mystery in the desktop space, has seen a few leaks for its mobile version. The latest piece of information comes directly from Acer so it’s more credible than past leaks and it confirms the TGP (total graphics power) and clock speeds of different variants of the laptop RTX 5050.

Acer is planning on incorporating the entry-level RTX 5050, a successor to the RTX 4050, in its Nitro series of Predator gaming laptops. The official laptop GPU power specifications page on the Acer website lists several different configurations of the RTX 5050 ranging from a 50W TGP to a 100W TGP model.

At the low-end, the Acer Nitro V 14 AI will have a version with the RTX 5050 clocked at 1,500 MHz with a stock 50W TGP going up to 60W with dynamic boost. Next in line is the Acer Nitro V 15 with a 60W stock TGP, 1,902 MHz clock speed, and 75W max TGP. The fastest and most power-hungry variant will be present in the Acer Nitro 16 AI and the Acer Nitro 18 AI, with 2,550 MHz clock speeds, 100W TGP, and 115W max TGP.

Notably, these RTX 5050 variants will be used in the same chassis that house more powerful GPUs, in some cases up to the RTX 5070 Ti.

Acer has not shared a launch date for these RTX 5050 powered laptops and Nvidia has not revealed any information about the GPU either. Past leaks have hinted at 8 GB VRAM and it is suspected that the laptop GPUs will feature GDDR7 memory. It is also believed that the desktop counterparts will stick with GDDR6 memory to create a gap between the RTX 5060 GPUs and the entry-level options.

So far, Nvidia’s RTX 50-series of gaming laptops have not been very wallet-friendly.

Like with most GPU generations, we got the flagship cards first, with the more mid-range and entry-level GPUs coming in later.

While Nvidia’s announcement of the GeForce RTX 5060 laptop GPU at Computex last week brought a glimmer of hope that budget gaming laptops will be here soon, you may want to hold out for a better deal.

After all, there is still the rumored entry-level Nvidia gaming GPU.

Thanks to a few recent leaks like two Lenovo listings from Laptops Direct, and a laptop lineup spec list from Acer, we have some insight into the yet-unannounced Nvidia RTX 5050 Laptop GPU.

Should you get an RTX 5060 laptop or hold out a bit longer for the RTX 5050 versions instead?

Let’s take a look to see if we can determine which GPU will power the best budget gaming laptops.

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RTX 5050 vs RTX 5060: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally Row 0 – Cell 0 RTX 5070 Laptop GPU RTX 5060 Laptop GPU RTX 5050 Laptop GPU Price: $1,299 $1,099 starting TBD CUDA (compute unified digital architecture) cores: 4,608 3,328 TBD VRAM: 8GB GDDR7 8GB GDDR7 8GB GDDR7 Memory bus: 128-bit 128-bit 128-bit Max clock speed: 2.347 GHz 2.497 GHz TBD TGP: up to 100W up to 100W up to 100W

We don’t have the full specs on the RTX 5050 yet, including the max GPU clock speed, CUDA Core count, or price.

But from what we do have, the RTX 5050 Laptop GPU seems to have the same 8GB of GDDR7 VRAM and 128-bit memory bus as the RTX 5060 Laptop GPU. The RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 laptop GPUs also have the same top-end TGP of 100W.

Granted, the RTX 5070 Laptop GPU has the same memory specs and TGP, but it has 38% more CUDA Cores.

RTX 5050 vs RTX 5060: Price to performance

(Image credit: Nvidia)

We haven’t tested any RTX 5060 systems yet, and the RTX 5050 gaming laptops haven’t even been officially announced. We can only speculate based on what we’ve seen from the Nvidia Blackwell generation so far.

While our initial RTX 5090 laptop test results aren’t quite as impressive as we expected, there are a few reasons for that.

Because of the high price tag attached to RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 laptops, the RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 TI are a more economical choice. We’ve even seen decent performance from the RTX 5070, at least based on an early preview benchmark session.

If Nvidia’s starting price expectations hold for the RTX 5050, we would expect to see at least one or two RTX 5050 gaming laptops with a price tag of about $999, which was the starting price for laptops with the RTX 4050. At least on paper.

This means the RTX 5050 is poised to offer the best combination of GPU power for the price.

RTX 5050 vs RTX 5060: Bottom line

Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., this month during the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan. (Image credit: Getty Images)

As always, my initial instinct on the performance of Nvidia’s lower-tier GPUs could be entirely off-base. We’ll have to wait and get some systems in for testing to make a final determination.

However.

Suppose the RTX 5050 is close to the RTX 5060 in pure silicon performance, with Nvidia’s DLSS 4 and frame generation technology enabled. In that case, it’s probably worth waiting for a cheaper Nvidia gaming laptop if you need to stick to a tight budget.

Alternatively, a few upcoming laptops will ship with the RTX 4050 laptop GPU if you’d like to hold out for the very best deal possible. We haven’t seen much pure silicon improvement from generation to generation between the RTX 40-series and RTX 50-series graphics cards.

While the RTX 4050 won’t get all the benefits of DLSS 4 and frame generation, it does have access to Nvidia’s DLSS 3.7. It’s not as smooth as DLSS 4, but it can come pretty close.

The RTX 4050 could also be a compelling option for a generation of incredibly expensive gaming laptops.

Best Gaming Laptops 2025

Whether you want to take your rig on the road, carry it to the couch, or just save space on your desk, a gaming laptop packs PC graphics performance into a compact, portable form factor. The market is loaded with choices that come with screens ranging from 14 to 18 inches graphics cards that can handle a variety of resolutions and options for any budget, from entry-level up to maxed out, multi-thousand dollar rigs The best gaming laptops often come with fancy RGB lights, high refresh rate panels and, sometimes, even mechanical keyboards.

To help you choose the right gaming laptop, we test many models each year, benchmarking them in popular games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2.

For those on a tight gaming budget, we also have dedicated pages for the best gaming laptops under $1,500 and the best gaming laptops under $1,000.

We’ve started testing the latest components for 2025, including Intel’s latest Core Ultra CPUs and Nvidia’s “Blackwell” mobile GPUs. While we’re always excited for the next generation of gaming notebooks, those RTX 50-series GPUs haven’t made our list yet. Our review of the Razer Blade 16 revealed some driver issues that we’re waiting for Nvidia to fix. We’re testing more and hope to see those updated soon so that we can add more new picks to this page.

We’re also seeing a renaissance in integrated graphics in gaming handhelds, which might lead some companies to see how far they can push systems without discrete GPUs altogether. That means over the next few months, we should see a bunch of refreshed gaming laptops for playing on the go.

Andrew E. Freedman Senior Editor Andrew is a Senior Editor on Tom’s Hardware covering systems, including gaming laptops, gaming PCs, consoles, and handhelds. He has been reviewing hardware and laptops for 10 years.

The quick list

Best Gaming Laptops 2025

Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

The Best Gaming Laptop

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

1. MSI Titan 18 HX The Best Gaming Laptop Our expert review: Specifications CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU Display: 18-inch, 3840 x 2400, 16:10, Mini LED, 120 Hz Weight: 7.93 pounds (3.6 kg) Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon View at Amazon View at Walmart Reasons to buy + Exceptional performance + Superb Mini LED screen + Cherry MX mechanical keyboard + Impressive build quality + Thunderbolt 5 ports + Triple SSDs, including one Gen5 Reasons to avoid – Shockingly expensive – Loud fans – Brief battery life – Finicky touchpad – Average speakers

Buy if ✅ You want a very high-res display: Very few gaming laptops offer screens higher than 2560 x 1440. The Mini-LED screen on the Titan goes up to 3840 x 2400 at 120 Hz.

✅ You love clicky keys: The Cherry MX keyboard on the Titan is luxurious, though the number pad and arrow keys still use membranes.

Don’t buy if ❌ You can’t afford it: The Titan is prohibitively expensive. We tested it at $6,379, which is a lot to spend on a gaming laptop. ❌ You want to take it on the go: This desktop replacement is large, heavy, and doesn’t have long battery life. It’s really designed to be plugged in.

The MSI Titan 18 HX AI better be the best gaming laptop. At $6,379 as tested, it pulls out all of the stops, including the most powerful Intel and Nvidia chips on offer, a mechanical keyboard, and a ton of storage space.

The system offers exceptional gaming performance on a laptop, though even the RTX 5090 may not always be able to pull off playing games at native resolution without the help of DLSS or turning down some settings. When I played games on it, I found you’re likely better adjusting the resolution.

The Cherry MX mechanical keyboard is a luxury found on few laptops, though it’s about time for MSI to expand it so that it includes the arrow keys and the numberpad. Still, most gaming and typing feel absolutely fantastic.

Connectivity is incredible. The system has three SSDs adding up to 6TB of storage in our review model. If that doesn’t hold your game collection, there are also Thunderbolt 5 ports for some of the fastest external storage drives around.

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If you value battery life, though, the Raider might not be for you. In our testing, it ran 2 hours and 16 minutes in our rundown. In a coffee shop with the brightness pulled up, it did even worse. This is a system that’s mean to be plugged in.

The Mini-LED display is also gorgeous. It goes up to 3840 x 2400, which is rare on gaming laptops these days. While it’s not OLED, I think it’s an excellent screen that makes games and work alike look great.

But this price is out of reach for many. If that’s the case, keep scrolling — we have plenty of picks at more affordable prices.

Read: MSI Titan 18 HX AI Raider review

The Best Budget Gaming Laptop

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Dell G16 The Best Budget Gaming Laptop Our expert review: Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7-13650HX GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Display: 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 165 Hz, 240 Hz Weight: 6.3 pounds (2.87 kg) Today’s Best Deals View at Walmart View at Walmart View at Amazon Reasons to buy + Strong gaming performance across the board + 16-inch QHD+ display with 240 Hz refresh rate + Excellent Cherry MX mechanical keyboard Reasons to avoid – Subpar 720p webcam – A bit heavier than I’d like – Chassis gets warm while gaming

Buy if ✅ You want a mechanical keyboard option: Some configurations of the Dell G16 include a Cherry MX mechanical profile, which you usually only find in more premium machines. ✅ Refresh rate is your priority: Our budget configuration had a 240 Hz option, which is great for esports and games run at low resolution.

Don’t Buy if ❌ You want something light: At 6.3 pounds, the Dell G16 is a bit heavier than some of its competitors.

With few laptops starting under $1,000 these days, the best gear for a budget is often a little older. But the Dell G16 (7630), now regularly in that budget price range, provides some niceties that other companies don’t.

Most gaming laptops at this price have an RTX 4050, but the RTX 4060 in the G16 makes for far stronger gaming performance.

And the fact that Dell included a Cherry MX mechanical keyboard, often found in more premium Alienware-branded laptops, is icing on the cake. I loved the way these keys felt while typing and gaming. There’s also a 16-inch screen that goes up to a 240 Hz refresh rate for quick-twitch esports.

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Like most budget machines, it’s a little bulky and doesn’t have all of the most modern features (this, for instance, has a 720p webcam). But the power you get for the performance is hard to ignore.

Read: Dell G16 review

Best RTX 4050 Laptop

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Buy if ✅ You want strong 1080p performance under $1,000: The RTX 4050 isn’t the most powerful mobile GPU, but it’s hard to argue with value.

Don’t Buy if ❌ You want the best display: In our testing, we found the screen to be a bit washed out. Something usually has to give at this price.

The MSI Katana 15 is among our favorite gaming laptops for those with just $1,000 to spend. We tested a $999 model with a Core i7-13620H and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 offering strong 1080p performance, though you may have to turn down some settings in some games.

In our testing, the Katana passed 60 fps in most benchmarks at some pretty high settings, though some, like Red Dead Redemption 2, were run lower. As games get more challenging, budget laptops won’t run at the highest settings for long.

Even under $1,000, you get 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, which is nice to see, as those are often some of the first specs to get cut for a budget PC. Instead, the chassis is made of cheap plastic, but the internals should get the job done.

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The display could be a bit more vivid, but its 144 Hz refresh rate will be a boon for esports players. And for its price, it delivers solid audio.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Read: MSI Katana 15 review

Mid-range value

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

4. Gigabyte Aorus 16X Mid-range value Our expert review: Average Amazon review: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7-14650HX GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU Display: 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 16:10, IPS, 165 Hz, Advanced Optimus Weight: 5.07 pounds (2.3 kg) Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon Reasons to buy + Well-priced + Vibrant screen + Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 7. IR webcam + Supports two storage drives Reasons to avoid – -Mediocre battery life – Unintuitive software

Buy if ✅ The screen is important to you: The 16-inch, 2560 x 1600 proved to be vibrant in our testing, with beautiful colors and deep contrast. ✅ You want to add storage later: This laptop has room for you to add a second SSD down the line.

Don’t Buy if ❌ You want inuitive software: Gigabyte’s Control Center isn’t the easiest to use when you want to make changes in settings.

At $1,599.99 as tested, the Gigabyte Aorus 16X packs a lot of features into its 16-inch frame.

The laptop has a vibrant, 2560 x 1600 display that runs at 165 Hz for smooth first person shooters and esports. Its Core i7-14650HX CPU and GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card effortlessly handle games on the great display, and its built-in speakers are good enough that I didn’t have to worry about headphones in a pinch.

On the practical side, it has a comfortable mouse and keyboard, excellent connectivity (including Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 7), and biometric security from its IR webcam. A surprising number of midrange gaming notebooks forego biometrics entirely, so I appreciated these security features.

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You’ll still want to carry a charger around, and Gigabyte’s software isn’t exactly the most intuitive. But if you want powerful gaming on a nice screen for a decent price, it’s hard to argue with what’s being offered here.

Read: Gigabyte Aorus 16X review

Best 14-inch Laptop

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Buy if ✅ You want a great gaming device you can take with you: At just 3.22 pounds and 0.78 inches thick, the TUF Gaming A14 competes with ultrabooks on size

Don’t Buy if ❌ You want to play games without headphones: In our testing, the speakers were a weak point on this system, so you’ll want some earbuds or a headset.

While Asus has often treated its TUF Gaming brand as a budget lineup, the A14 sure feels premium. In fact, it’s my favorite 14-inch laptop that we’ve recently tested, standing out in a suddenly-crowded category.

Its understated design seems to borrow from the more upscale Zephyrus lineup. Despite packing an RTX 4060 in our review configuration, the TUF is just 3.22 pounds and 0.78 inches thick, putting it in line with some ultrabooks.

When we weren’t using it for gaming, the A14 used Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus and switched to the integrated graphics, managing to squeeze out 10 hours and 4 minutes of life on our battery test, which involves web browsing, streaming, and browser-based graphics tests.

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The speakers are a bit quiet, but we appreciated the travel-friendly design. The 100W RTX 4060 can only play games at moderate settings, but if you’re on the go, the A14 is a great option.

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Read: Asus TUF Gaming A14 review

The Best Desktop Replacement

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6. Alienware 16 Area-51 The Best Desktop Replacement Our expert review: Specifications CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU Display: 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240 Hz, G-Sync, Advanced Optimus Weight: 7.49 pounds (3.4 kg) Today’s Best Deals View at Dell View at Best Buy View at Amazon Reasons to buy + Strong gaming performance + Lots of ports + $50 mechanical keyboard upgrade is worth it + Novel color Reasons to avoid – Bulky and heavy – Short battery life – No OLED display options

Buy if ✅ You want a laptop with a mechanical keyboard: The Cherry MX keyboard on the Area-51 feels great for typing and gaming. ✅ You want powerful performance: The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX powering our review units tore through benchmarks.

Don’t Buy if ❌ You want to carry your laptop around: Even this 16-inch notebook is a hefty and I had a hard time fitting it in my backpack. ❌ You want OLED: Despite the price, Alienware isn’t offering OLED display options with the most vivid colors and deepest blacks.

Desktop replacements are usually fairly permanent fixtures on your desk. The Alienware 16 Area-51 is a hefty gaming laptop with a ton of power and the option for an excellent keyboard, which is good if you want to keep your whole setup in one system. At 7.49 pounds and 1.12 inches thick, this is a system that you can carry around, but may want to just leave in your home.

Many desktop replacements are 18 inches. If that’s your preference, there’s an Alienware 18 Area-51 as well, but we haven’t gotten to test that yet.

The system is built solid and comes in a novel “liquid teal” color. The $50 mechanical keyboard option is totally worth it; I love the way it feels. If you want to upgrade it down the line, the 16-incher has three M.2 SSD slots and slotted RAM, though the Wi-Fi is soldered.

Performance was strong, too, with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX powering through our benchmarks, often delivering higher performance than the Razer Blade 16’s RTX 5090 paired with a 28W AMD CPU.

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The display is nice and bright, but at this price, Alienware should have OLED options. And while gaming laptops typically don’t last all day on a charge, the Area-51 lasted only 4 hours and 10 minutes on a charge, far shorter than some competitors.

Read: Alienware 16 Area-51 review

Other Gaming Laptops We Tested

💻 Gigabyte Aorus Master 16

The Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 is a strong gaming laptop with an Nvidia RTX 5080 Laptop GPU and a bright display, but it doesn’t feel as premium as its price tag, and its GiMate AI doesn’t add much.

Read: Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 review

💻 Razer Blade 16

The Razer Blade 16 is a thin RTX 5090 laptop with a bright screen and tons of ports, but it’s extremely pricey and the drivers felt unfinished on our test unit.

Read: Razer Blade 16 review

💻 Acer Predator Helios Neo Slim 14

This 14.5-inch Predator gaming laptop delivers good 1600p gaming performance and plentiful features, including Thunderbolt 4 and RGB backlighting.

Read: Acer Predator Helios Neo Slim 14 review

How We Test Gaming Laptops

How we test gaming laptops

Every gaming laptop that we review goes through a rigorous series of tests and benchmarks to decide whether it’s worth your consideration.

Currently, games that we run and may include in our reviews are:

Swipe to scroll horizontally Game Preset Shadow of the Tomb Raider Highest Grand Theft Auto V Very High Cyberpunk 2077 Ray Tracing Ultra Far Cry 6 Ultra Red Dead Redemption 2 Medium Borderlands 3 Badass

We also run a stress test, which currently consists of the Metro Exodus benchmark on the RTX preset, run 15 times in a loop while recording system statistics with HWInfo. (This is also when we take our heat tests).

Additionally, we run a series of productivity benchmarks, including Geekbench, Handbrake, and our in-house file transfer test. These test both single-core and multi-core performance on the processor, as well as all-around performance.

We measure gaming laptop displays with our colorimeter and light meter, and report brightness in nits, as well as the volume of the DCI-P3 and sRGB color gamut that the screen covers.

Our battery test connects to a local web server over Wi-Fi, and continuously browses the web, runs simple OpenGL graphics tests, and streams videos. We report the amount of time the laptop ran the test in hours and minutes.

Benchmarks aren’t everything. We also actually use the gaming laptops that we review. Our writers and editors spend time playing games and using gaming laptops for writing, watching videos, listening to music, and browsing the web. This gives us the experience to report our own thoughts and feelings about the keyboard, design, port selection, audio, and other features. It also helps us get some valuable play time in!

Because the ability to upgrade and repair gaming laptops is essential, we open every system to see which parts are user-replaceable and document that experience so you know what you can change down the line and how difficult (or easy!) that is for you to do..

Gaming Laptop FAQs

◼ Are gaming laptops worth it?

If you want to play games on your laptop, then yes! While you can run some games on integrated graphics found in most laptops, a gaming laptop with a discrete graphics card, a high-end CPU, and powerful cooling can help you achieve strong gaming performance on the go. These systems often also include higher refresh rate displays and more ports for your peripherals. There are gaming laptops at a variety of price points, from budget entries up through systems that cost over $5,000.

◼ Can you upgrade gaming laptops?

This varies from system to system, but most gaming laptops offer some degree of aftermarket upgradeability. At the very least, many machines let you put in a bigger (or second) SSD, which is good because games are huge. Thinner laptops might have the RAM soldered down, though many still have replaceable SO-DIMMs. CPUs and GPUs are always soldered down.

◼ Which GPU should I get?

Most games are heavily dependent on the GPU, so you should invest here if you can. While 50-series gaming laptops are rolling out, the 40-series still holds great value. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 and 4090 will give you top-end performance that should leave you gaming comfortably for a few years, while the RTX 4070 is a fine mid-range card. The 4060, when on sale, can be a great deal, including in gaming laptops under $1,500 . The 50-class cards might give you some extra oomph, but you’re usually better off waiting for a 4060 to go on sale.

AMD’s GPUs have significantly less market share in gaming laptops than Nvidia’s chips.

◼ What size screen should I get for a gaming laptop? What about refresh rate?

The size screen you chose for a gaming laptop is largely based on personal preference. Smaller, 14-inch laptops are easier to carry around, but larger 17 or-18 inch notebooks are more likely to also feature large cooling systems that can cool more powerful graphics cards.

High refresh rate is nice, but the fastest options, going up to 360 Hz, see the biggest benefits in esports games that require quick-twitch skills and are often played at lower settings.

If you have a more powerful GPU, you may opt for a higher resolution screen to take advantage of it. 2560 x 1600 seems to be a sweet spot these days.

◼ Can gaming laptops be used for work and video editing?

Gaming laptops aren’t limited to gaming. Most of what we review uses Windows 11, so you get everything that comes with it. There’s no reason you couldn’t do anything you do on the best ultrabooks with them. We test all gaming laptops with a suite of productivity tests.

A GPU may be especially helpful for intense tasks like video editing, photo editing, and rendering.

◼ What is battery life like on gaming laptops?

Gaming laptops typically don’t offer battery life on par with ultrabooks. We often see less than 8 hours on a charge when you aren’t even gaming, though we’ve seen some strong times from AMD’s Ryzen processors, and Nvidia suggests its improved Optimus technology may help turn the tide.

We don’t typically recommend gaming on battery, but if you do, that will depend heavily on the game. A 2D side-scroller should chew through less battery life than a massive first-person shooter with all of the effects turned up.

Gaming Laptop Shopping Tips

Quick Gaming Laptop Shopping Tips

Focus on the GPU: Most games are heavily dependent on the GPU, and those aren’t upgradeable. If you splurge on a powerful GPU now, you’ll be gaming comfortably for a few years.

Most games are heavily dependent on the GPU, and those aren’t upgradeable. If you splurge on a powerful GPU now, you’ll be gaming comfortably for a few years. You can upgrade some parts later: While the best CPUs for gaming and GPUs are almost always soldered down, most gaming laptops let you replace the RAM and storage, so you can buy cheaper now and add more memory and a bigger best hard drive or SSD down the road. Thicker, more powerful laptops are often easier to upgrade than thinner ones, so be sure to do some research before buying. (We include this information in our reviews).

While the best CPUs for gaming and GPUs are almost always soldered down, most gaming laptops let you replace the RAM and storage, so you can buy cheaper now and add more memory and a bigger best hard drive or SSD down the road. Thicker, more powerful laptops are often easier to upgrade than thinner ones, so be sure to do some research before buying. (We include this information in our reviews). Battery life will probably be bad: Very few gaming notebooks get 8 hours or more on a charge, and you need the power supply to get the best gaming performance anyway. However, we’ve seen some strong times from AMD’s Ryzen processors, and Nvidia suggests its improved Optimus technology may help turn the tide. For peak gaming performance, however, you’ll want to be sure to be plugged in while playing.

Very few gaming notebooks get 8 hours or more on a charge, and you need the power supply to get the best gaming performance anyway. However, we’ve seen some strong times from AMD’s Ryzen processors, and Nvidia suggests its improved Optimus technology may help turn the tide. For peak gaming performance, however, you’ll want to be sure to be plugged in while playing. Get enough storage for your games: Video games take up more storage than ever, and premium gaming laptops are expensive. Shy away from anything less than 512GB. 1TB is the sweet spot and 2TB is ideal for a gaming laptop. Luckily, most machines let you add more storage down the line if you need it.

Discounts on the Best Gaming Laptops

Whether you’re shopping for one of the best gaming laptops or another model that didn’t quite make our list, you may find some savings by checking out our list of the best gaming laptop deals . You can also browse our lists of Dell coupon codes, HP coupon codes, Lenovo coupon codes, Razer promo codes, or Newegg promo codes.

MORE: How to Buy a Gaming Laptop

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MORE: Best Ultrabooks and Premium Laptops

Asus has published the complete GPU power specifications for its 2025 ROG and TUF gaming laptops, offering clarity on the exact TGP (Total Graphics Power) configurations for the latest Nvidia RTX 50 series mobile GPUs.

This move provides much-needed transparency for consumers, who often struggle to determine GPU wattages due to inconsistent or hidden specs across the laptop industry. The detailed list, available on Asus’ official website, covers all RTX 50-series mobile GPUs across a wide range of gaming laptop models.

RTX 5090 Mobile: 100W – 175W

RTX 5080 Mobile: 100W – 175W

RTX 5070 Ti Mobile: 100W – 175W

RTX 5070 Mobile: 75W – 115W

RTX 5060 Mobile: 75W – 115W

RTX 5050 Mobile: 75W – 115W

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According to the company, all 2025 ROG Strix Scar laptops equipped with the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti will be capable of running these GPUs at their maximum TGPs. On the other hand, the TUF Gaming models like the TUF A18 and TUF A16 will feature slightly more conservative configurations, with the RTX 5070 and the RTX 5060 at up to 115W.

The slimmer Zephyrus G14, known for its ultraportable design, will offer the RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti at 120W, while the rest of the GPUs will be capped at 100W. This reflects the thermal and power constraints of its thin chassis.

Asus has shared these power figures model-by-model to give buyers a clearer idea of the performance they can expect. For instance, the ROG Strix Scar 18 with the RTX 5080 runs the chip at 175W, while the Zephyrus G14 caps the RTX 5080 at 120W to maintain thermals. While both laptops offer the same GPU, the difference in power would result in a significant difference in terms of performance.

This public disclosure comes in response to growing consumer demand for transparency in GPU power ratings. Since Nvidia’s 30- and 40-series mobile GPUs began allowing a wide TGP range with no strict branding distinction, buyers have had to rely on third-party reviews or hidden spec sheets to know what level of performance to expect.

By sharing this information upfront, Asus seems to be giving buyers the tools to make informed decisions, especially as GPU power limits can significantly impact gaming performance, cooling, and battery life.