When the best gaming laptop is not enough…
Whether you’re a gamer at heart, or you have a slow machine to run the latest games, then you might be considering the purchase of a gaming laptop. There are many manufacturers that claim they produce the best gaming laptop, but that is more often than not far from true. The task of finding the best gaming laptop is a daunting task, thanks to the oversaturation of the market with low-quality products.
When you’re looking for the best gaming laptop there are a few key factors to consider, of course depending on your preferences and needs. Central Processing Unit (CPU), Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and storage are the main specifications you should be looking for. If you’re looking for portability, then battery life, screen dimensions, thickness, and weight would be your secondary areas of focus. If you’re more like me and prefer to keep your gaming experience local, then you might want to give up some portability over power and functionality.
In any case, if you feel uncomfortable or unsure of which laptop is your best gaming laptop — don’t worry. To help you with this daunting choice I’ve compiled a list of my personal top five selections for the best gaming laptop.
# | Image | Brand | Price |
1 | Acer | $799.99 | |
2 | MSI | $919.98 | |
3 | Dell | $718.00 | |
4 | Asus | $999.00 | |
5 | Lenovo | $817.90 |
1. Acer Aspire E 15 with i7-8550U
When it comes to the best gaming laptop, is unsurprisingly manufactured by Acer. If you’re looking for a durable build quality, long battery life, display and a cheap price, the Aspire E 15 might be your perfect match. Acer is a worldwide trusted Taiwanese company, famous for their top-of-the-shelf laptops at affordable prices.
Have you experienced the hassle of newer and bigger games loading slowly? Or you happened to drop your laptop slightly and corrupt your precious save file? Then you’re probably tired and disappointed with your slow, fragile HDD. The Aspire E15 has a very fast 256 GB SSD. The built-in Dual Channel Memory (RAM) is 8GB. Combined with the 8th generation Intel Core i7-8550U, this machines provides stutter-less gaming experience. A very bright 15.6″, Full HD 1080p display provides you with a vivid, crystal-clear image at all times. The innovative screen technology is powered by the nVidia — the leading graphical card manufacturer. The nVidia GeForce MX150 comes with 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM. On the side, you will find one 8X DVD Double-Layer Drive RW. The battery lasts for about 16 hours without heavy load and about 14 with constant gaming.
Except all features mentioned above, you will also find Windows 10 included in your package. You will have no complaints, as this device is worthy of the title ‘best gaming laptop’.
2. MSI GL62M 7REX-1896US
What if you are looking for a special gaming-oriented laptop? Or maybe some more disk space? For some games, a stronger video card is required, and the MSI GL62M 7REX-1896US is the perfect fit for those terms. This device comes with 128 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD, giving you all the space you’ll need for your games. Manufactured by the leading gaming motherboard manufacturer — MSI, this beast is probably the second best gaming laptop in 2018.
According to the manufacturer, you would be able to play Overwatch with the incredible 73 Frames Per Second (FPS). Games such as COD: Infinite Warfare, Battlefield, and Gears of War 4 are capable of running smoothly at 60 FPS. Games like Doom you will be able to play at almost 70 FPS! More power accordingly brings more heat, which is, unfortunately, a performance limiting factor. To solve this issue, the MSI team has developed and integrated the Cooler Boost 4 system. The Cooler Boost technology along with up to 6-7 heat pipes helps prevent throttle and allows you to maintain high gaming performance so you can get the best out of your machine! Built with the 7th Generation Intel Quad Core — the i7-7700HQ — this device runs most new games without any performance issues.
When it comes to graphics, the developers at MSI have made sure that you’ll get the most out of the beautiful built-in display. Powered by the GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPU, this machine is capable of providing 15% better performance over the previous 965M GPU. The combination of the Cooler Boost 4 technology and MSI’s special gaming features, you’ll have no issues with harnessing the full performance of NVIDIA’s latest GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPU.
3. Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series
Next up in the hunt for the best gaming laptop is the Dell Inspiron 15. If you’re like me and prefer to take the game with you, wherever you go — then you would probably be looking for a laptop with a long-lasting battery life. Reliable processing power from a 7th-generation Intel i5 Quad Core setup ensures smooth and steady play of even action-heavy titles, and Nvidia GeForce graphics keep you immersed in the visual aspect of play.
The built-in 7th-generation Intel Quad-Core i5-7300HQ (2.50 GHz) comes with a special feature that would make you love it! Combined with the integrated Turbo Boost Technology, the core is capable of ramping up your core’s power up to 3.50 GHz! If you’re worried about the RAM memory of this device — you’re wrong as it doesn’t fall behind the MSI GL62M and the Acer Aspire E 15. The best gaming laptop is powered by 8GB DDR4 of 2400MHz memory and built with a 1TB Hybrid Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 5400RPM with 8GB Cache. The beautiful built-in 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) LED display comes with Anti-Glare and IPS technologies. It is powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM memory.
If you’re like me and sometimes prefer to play in the dark, you probably clicked the wrong button at an important moment. The frustration of failing to finish off a boss with your special attack because of a wrong key combination is big! To ensure that you never experience that, the developers at Dell have provided you with an awesome gaming-oriented backlit keyboard. Other additions that come with the best gaming laptop are the Windows 10 Home (64-bit) OS, a 2-in1 Media Card Reader and a USB 3.0. Other specifications include 802.11ac Wireless LAN + Bluetooth 4.2, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz.
4. ASUS ROG STRIX GL503VD
Still not enough disk space for you? Or maybe those brands do not match your preferences? You can free yourself from all worries, as the Asus development team has provided you with an excellent alternative. Dedicated to creating products for today’s and tomorrow’s smart life, ASUS is a leader in motherboard and gaming manufacturing, as well as a top-shelf consumer notebook vendor. They were also the official laptop sponsor for the BlizzCon event in 2017.
This monster is powered by the world famous 7th-generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ quad-core with power support of up to 2.8GHz. Like some of the previously mentioned models, this one also supports Turbo Boost Technology, which brings your core’s power up to 3.8GHz. Graphics are powered by the famous GeForce GTX 1050 GPU with 4 GB of dedicated VRAM. Any excess heat is cleared thanks to the innovative Dual-fan thermal design by Asus. The best gaming laptop comes with two drives for the ideal balance of fast OS-drive speeds and large storage space. Built into the device are a 256GB SATA SSD and a second, high-performance HDD with the capacity of 1TB. Pressing the wrong buttons or double-pressing by mistake is not an option with the GL503VD! Built with the innovative Aura RGB lighting keyboard, the laptop comes with 4 isolated hotkeys, 1.8 mm key travel, and anti-ghosting technology. You have 4 zones of lighting control and keyboard durability of 20-million keystrokes.
A built-in smart amplifier technology delivers louder in-game audio with up to 200% higher volume and minimal distortion to ensure smooth play. Other specifications include: 802.11ac 2×2 WiFi (up to 6x faster than traditional BGN); Bluetooth 4.1, 3x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.1 (Type C), 1x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI, 1x Mini DisplayPort, 1x headphone/Mic jack, and 1x RJ45 LAN port.
5. Lenovo Legion Y520
The last but not the least in my ‘best gaming laptop’ list is the innovative Lenovo Y520. In the recent years, the brand has developed as a leading manufacturer in the area of business and gaming-oriented laptops and smartphones. The Y520 is part of their best gaming laptop series, trusted by millions all over the world — Legion.
Labeled by many as the ‘essential gamer requirement’, the Legion Y520 goes beyond the best gaming laptop in many aspects. In this little beast, you will find all the features you would expect a gaming laptop to have. It is capable of providing you with fast speeds thanks to the combination of the 7th Gen Intel Core Processor with the high-performance 256GB PCIe SSD. The optimized thermal engineering keeps it cool for as long as you want to play — which would probably be a lot! The stunning 15.6-inch Full HD display is powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPU and accommodates 4 GB of dedicated VRAM. The device is capable of providing you with smooth playing and the performance you need to dominate at your favorite game! The built-in 2x2W Harman speakers come with Dolby Audio to deliver premium audio for a truly immersive gameplay. If you’re looking for crisp, accurate and responsive keystrokes that are perfect for in-game chatting and gameplay then you would love the Crimson backlight keyboard, featuring 1.7 mm of key travel distance.
The Legion Y520 is only 1.02-inch thick and weighs about 2.5 KG. This easily makes it the best gaming laptop for those who prefer portability and still want to preserve power. An addition that you might find useful is the included Windows 10 with the package.
If the small screens of these laptops are not enough to satisfy your gamer soul then you should check our review of the best gaming monitors and the best smart TVs. If you’re looking for the best gaming keyboard and mouse, we’ve covered that as well right here. For professional gaming experience, you might also want to check our review of the best gaming headset!
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