We round up the best gaming laptops that you can buy right now, from affordable sub-£1000 portable gaming rigs to the most powerful 4K gaming notebooks of 2017.
Back in the day, gaming laptops were the size of a microwave and seriously underpowered compared with a desktop rig. On top of that, they were cursed with terrible battery life; these things lasted about as long as a dumb, sex-mad teenager in a horror flick.
But in 2016 we’ve seen Nvidia slip desktop-level graphics into a range of gaming notebooks, so you can get 4K games running right on your lap. Sure, that doesn’t exactly do wonders for your battery life, but the gorgeous graphics and extreme portable power make it all worthwhile.
But which gaming laptop is best for you? Well, you’ll be glad to know that you can pick up some excellent super-powered gaming notebooks across a range of price points. Here’s the best of the bunch that you can buy right now.
Best gaming laptops: Asus ROG G752VS
As gaming rigs that sit on your lap go, you’ll be hard pressed to find much better than the Asus ROG G752VS. The low end of the pricing for this machine hovers around the £1,700 mark, so it sure ain’t cheap, but you get some impressive specs for that money.
The Asus ROG comes with a 17.3-inch Full HD display, overclockable Intel Core i7 6820HK CPU, Nvidia GTX 1070 GPU with 8GB of video RAM for up to 70fps gaming at Full HD and a base of 32GB RAM. Plus you get a 256GB SSD for carrying around loads of games. The laptop comes with Windows 10 (of course) and the handy Asus ROG Gaming Center software for easy overclocking controls.
All that going at full power should mean about four hours of battery life before you need to plug in. Not exactly an all-day effort, but at that level of performance, not bad either.
Power aside, this thing looks amazing too. Asus has designed the ROG with a gorgeous gunmetal and copper finish that looks every bit as aggressive as the machine underneath.
Best gaming laptops: Origin EON 17-X 10 Series
For sheer processing power, the Origin EON 17-X 10 Series is a stunning laptop that packs in the Intel Skylake Core i7 – 6700K CPU, which runs at a stunning 4.5GHz. Back that up with 16GB of RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, 1.5TB storage and a 17.3-inch QHD display capable of 3840 x 2160 resolution and you’re looking at a powerhouse of a machine.
Sure, battery life isn’t great at a little over two hours of full power use, but with a screen and resolution like that it’s to be expected. This gaming laptops is all about pure power, so plug in and enjoy.
Best gaming laptops: Razer Blade Stealth
If you want to go a little more portable with that gaming power, Razor has you covered. The late-2016 released Razor Blade Stealth can go for near to a whopping 10-hours on a charge. Yup, this is as good as most normal laptops out there but with a lot more gaming grunt.
Under the surprisingly slim 1.3kg chassis is a 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 – 7500U processor with 16GB of RAM and Intel HD Graphics 620, plus 256GB storage. Your games play out on a sharp and vibrant 12.5-inch 2560 x 1440 resolution screen.
All that and prices start around the £750 mark, making this a very enticing gaming laptop indeed.
Best gaming laptops: Gigabyte P37X v6
If you want your gaming laptop with a spacious 4K display, plus the processing power to back that up, then this Gigabyte could be for you.
The Gigabyte P37X v6 runs on an Intel Core i7 – 6700HQ CPU clocked at 2.6GHz and backed by 16GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU and 1.5TB storage. All that should keep chugging along for over five hours of full-on use. But the highlight is definitely that 17.3-inch 3840 x 2160 resolution screen, which makes your games look sweet as a nut. Or, indeed, like Tropicana.
The catch? You’ll be shelling out about £2,200 for that sweet combination of large high-res display, powerful processing and decent battery life.
Best gaming laptops: MSI GS60 Ghost Pro
MSI doesn’t mess about when it comes to combining performance and price in a happy middle ground. The GS60 Ghost Pro does this with aplomb. While you’re limited to 1920 x 1080 resolution on the 15.6-inch screen that means a good frame rate for gaming thanks to the 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 – 6700HQ, 16GB RAM and Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M graphics.
For the price at just over £1,100 you’re looking at a battery life of about three hours of full use.
Best gaming laptops: Lenovo IdeaPad Y700
If you want to keep the purse strings tight but still game on the go, this is the laptop for you. The 15-inch 1920 x 1080 display toting machine is just £600. Despite the low price it can manage PC gaming thanks to its Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, 8GB RAM and Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics.
This also looks good, has a decent battery life and includes up to 512GB of SSD storage.
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