Finding one of the best laptops for gaming can feel a bit daunting, simply because there are so many seemingly impressive options to choose from. If you're not up to speed with the latest specs and terminology, it's not always easy to be sure if a particular laptop is a good buy or not, especially when both gaming laptop and PC hardware is constantly developing.
That's where we come in. In this guide we've picked out some of the best gaming laptops available now, many of which our team of experts have reviewed for Creative Bloq. It's a collection of recent models as well as a few slightly older ones that still offer great value. Without too many options to wade through you'll soon be able to pin down the best gaming laptop for you.
Yes, we on CB are creatives, but we are all enthusiastic and experienced gamers too, and we have used our expertise here to test, review and live with some of the most exciting gaming laptops on Earth, to find out which ones really deliver the thrills we crave. Beyond testing benchmarks using Geekbench, Cinebench and similar tests, we test each laptop's limits by running a variety of games on them to see their processing prowess, visual performance and general joy (or sometimes frustration) of use.
There's no need to spend a month's wages on a gaming laptop; obviously you can if you want a full-bore gaming monster with enough GPU power to play the latest AAA titles in 4K or QHD. But if all you need is a laptop that lets you play when you're out and about and you're not the sort to turn all the detail options up to maximum, there are some excellent lower-budget options that'll still deliver strong performance. Whatever your budget, you'll be able to find the best gaming laptop for you in our guide below. And you're going to need some good peripherals and accessories too, so make sure you also check out our guides to the best gaming chairs, the best gaming mice, the best gaming headsets, the best gaming keyboards and, if the laptop screen isn't quite enough for you, the best gaming monitors available right now.
The best laptops for gaming available now
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If you're after the best Razer laptop with no constraints and no technical drawbacks, the Razer Blade 17 is for you. The price tag can feel off-putting, but if you're willing to set down the cash you'll really be getting the best of the best. This is a powerhouse laptop for gaming, but we'd caution that muscle comes at a cost.
In our Razer Blade 17 review we say the power of this laptop ensures its a perfect workstation for designers and 3D artists, and is only really recommended as a laptop for gamers if you really want to enjoy the good things in life and don't look at the price tag.
When we tested, we found that the 4K touch screen display is fantastic but perhaps a little overkill, yet with the latest components and Razer's sleek design, this really is the laptop of the moment. But all that good stuff comes at a price, an actual high price, but if you want a high-spec, blockbuster laptop that will run anything and everything, and budget isn't an issue, then invest in the Razer Blade 17 as one of the best laptops for gaming.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 is a festival of RGB LEDs – turn it on and it blinks into life in an array of colours. If nothing else, this is one of the best laptops for gaming that is an unabashed love letter to gamer style.
This revised 2022 model is also very powerful courtesy of the new Intel 12th Gen CPUs and the latest Nvidia RTX graphics. In our Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 review, our tester found this to be a well-built and solid gaming laptop with a decent battery life and streamlined quality. There are few thrills outside of the LEDs that circle the chassis.
The only downsides are a 1440p screen that looks a little dull and disappointing compared to some others on this list, even though it has a 240Hz refresh rate, and the 2.3kg means it's not the lightest laptop for gaming either.
Looking as slick as ever, the Razer Blade 15 line continues to dazzle as one of the best gaming laptops out there. It's one of the best-looking laptops with its black, minimal aluminium chassis that avoids any garish features that scream "gamer" and it's also super light and portable considering the high-end, powerful components inside.
This is an older laptop (and there is the newer Razer 16 model available) but it remains one of the best all-rounders for gaming. In our Razer 15 review, we highlighted our fantastic this computer is, but also pointed out the price tag. Now the Razer Blade 15 remains as good but the price has come down. The Razer Blade 15 is so good our reviewer owns one. What's not to love?
The Nvidia 3080-series GPU together with 12th gen chips make it a powerful piece of kit if you decide to go for the most powerful config, but if you want to shave some money off the price a 3070 GPU with an Intel Core i7 is a great compromise. The Razer Blade 15 definitely still leans into the more expensive side of the laptop scale, though affordable compared to some on our list, but have a browse at the different configs in the series to get exactly what you want and save yourself some money.
Immensely powerful, slick and stylish, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 comes with the latest, greatest Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, a powerful processor, a flashy LED display on the lid and a hefty price tag, but that last one is to be expected. If you can afford it, this will serve as both a gaming and creative powerhouse (just as long as you don't stray too far from an outlet).
Our Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur absolutely loved his time with it and try as he might, he struggled to find where the limits lay with this monster's discombobulating power. Check out our full review of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 for the full lowdown on this beast.
A mechanical keyboard might not necessarily be your top priority when looking for one of the best laptops for gaming, but that's just one great reason to opt for the Corsair Voyager a1600. Corsair's been around for quite a while, but this model, launched in August, is its first gaming laptop, and there's much to like about it.
For starters there's that mechanical keyboard – something you won't see in gaming laptops very often – which uses Cherry MX Ultra-Low Profile switches, and feels absolutely fantastic and responsive. Another unexpected extra is a touch bar above the keyboard, although it's mainly geared towards streamers, so you might not get a lot of use out of it.
Its big, fast 16:10 display is a joy to look at, and gaming performance is impressive, too (although its fans get a bit loud when it's running at full pelt), and there's another sweet bonus in the form of 'Slipstream' connectivity, which enables you to connect compatible wireless peripherals without a plug-in dongle. For Corsair's first run at a laptop this is a very good effort indeed; however its price is likely to raise a few eyebrows.
The MSI GE76 Raider is a beast of a gaming machine that boasts some top-line components like the Intel Core i9-12900HK and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The 17-inch display makes everything look incredible and with the power, it packs this can handle other demanding activities like video editing and recording.
There are some nice design touches too, for example, if you're partial to a bit of flair then you'll love the RGB light bar that matches the colourful backlit keys. It's one of the features we really love about this laptop gaming.
All this tech and style comes with a catch; the MSI GE76 Raider is incredibly heavy, so it's best used as a desktop replacement or a piece of kit you plan to plug into a nicer TV or monitor. If you want to gauge what you'd need to spend to get a great monitor to work with the MSI GE76 Raider, take a look at our reviews of the best gaming monitors.
If you're looking for an ultraportable laptop, the smart-looking Razer Blade 14 is a good option. This laptop packs some more punch than the Dash F15, but with more impressive specs there's going to be a price hike. If you can live with the cost, this is a gaming laptop that impresses.
First of all, the Razer Blade 14 is noticeably smaller than the other Razer Blade laptops on this list and boasts Razor's famously slick designs. With an AMD CPU and Nvidia 30-series GPU, you're getting the best of both worlds. It's safe to say that this laptop is a 14-inch powerhouse. We think the Razer Blade 14 is a nice middle-ground laptop for gaming.
A 15-inch gaming laptop makes for a powerful and versatile machine, and Alienware’s new X15 R2 is both of those things, along with being well-made and pleasing to look at – if you can put up with the RGB lighting. The choice of components and plenty of RAM ensures games and other demanding tasks are dealt with smartly, but the short battery life means this is a laptop best used at home.
It's a little cheaper than the absolutely most expensive Alienware models, but as our full Alienware X15 R2 review shows, it offers near enough to the same performance, although it is quite expensive when compared to similarly specced rivals. The upside there is that you can count on Dell's renowned build quality and Alienware's reputation for long-lasting machines.
Stylish, classy and capable, the Alienware m17 R5 is an attractive update to an established gaming performer. Powered by a 6000-series AMD Ryzen processor and Radeon graphics card, it blitzes through games and creative tasks alike, with multitasking a breeze in our testing. Its unique styling may not appeal to everyone, and it's quite bulky and heavy for on-the-go work, but as our full Alienware m17 R5 review shows, this is one of the best sub-£2,000 options you'll find out there right now.
Asus is taking things further for the 2-in-1 format with this offering that makes gaming tablets a serious proposition. It's an exciting development and a new form factor that opens up a world of possibilities, aiming to compete with the best gaming laptops while offering the versatility and portability of tablet. Although it is chunkier than most tablets, the design of the Asus ROG Flow Z13 is a feat of engineering and the build is superb.
As for performance, it does have its flaws, however, which makes it harder to justify the hefty price tag. When we reviewed it, we found it to be certainly very powerful but performance still lagged behind laptops with similar components. We'd also want an external display for gaming where possible, not only because the 13.4-inch screen is on the smaller side, but also due to the poor response time, which Asus rates at 30ms – and you can see it in the blurriness and fuzziness in games and video. See our in-depth Asus ROG Flow Z13 review for more details.
Is a gaming laptop okay for normal use?
Of course! If you pick up one of the best laptops for gaming, they are specifically equipped for high-end applications and work so general browsing and normal usage will be a breeze. Of course, you can easily opt for a cheaper laptop if you're not going to be using a laptop for gaming or high-intensity digital art. We have some cheaper alternatives to the above list in our guide to the best laptops for working from home.
Are gaming laptops worth it?
In short: yes. Gaming laptops are a great alternative to a full PC set up that often ends up being cheaper. You also get the advantage of having everything already built into one device as opposed to having to by each piece of (pricey) internals individually. The best laptops for gaming also double up as a powerful machine for handling intense creative apps like 3D programmes, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and more.
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