- Acer's collosal 21-inch gaming laptop
- HP Omen 15
- MSI GP72
- Dell Inspiron 7000 Gaming
- Alienware 13
- Asus ROG Strix
- Razer Blade
When buying a gaming laptop graphics are king, and you will want to make sure to find a laptop with a serious graphics card (GPU) built in.
Nvidia's GeForce series remains the most common pick for top devices. You should look for the manufacturer's latest chips, the new 10-series configuration, preferably the latest GTX 1080.
For a breakdown of the highest performance graphics cards, Notebookcheck has a chart judging the framerates of the latest chips against some of the most demanding video game releases, such as Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Middle Earth Shadow of War.
Specs should look for in a gaming laptop?
Look out for a laptop with eighth generation Kaby Lake Intel Core i5 or i7 processors or better for great processing power. You should also check the processor count, looking for a quad core build. For a top graphics card you should look for the Nvidia GTX 1060 series or better, the latest being the Nvidia GTX 1080.
Screen quality is also a key part of gaming laptops. Most gaming laptops will feature a 15.6-inch screen, while some will have a 17-inch screen, although this obviously starts to hinder portability.
Many new gaming laptops are now marketed with Quad HD (QHD) and 4K displays. QHD screens have resolutions of 3,200 x 1,800 pixels while 4K screens have 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. While more pixels can add more detail and depth, it does also mean the laptop will need a more powerful graphics card, which comes at a price.
Other key features
Screen size: The optimum size for a gaming laptop in portability and visuals is a 15.6-inch screen. Anything closer to 17 inches is likely to weigh more than 3kg, getting to the point where you are sacrificing portability.
Weight: Almost all gaming laptops are heavy beasts weighing more than 2kg, with 17-inch models weighing more.
Battery life: Gaming laptops are not known for their staying power and many will only last four or five hours on moderate use.
Customization: While some laptops on this list have cheaper entry level prices to get the performance claimed by the manufacturer you may have to upgrade the components. For example, while the Alienware 13 is rated as having the best OLED screen on a gaming laptop, you will have to pay extra for the upgrade.
