Ranking: Best gaming laptops reviewed by Notebookcheck

The Neo 16 has traditionally been the fastest gaming laptop from XMG. The Early 2025 model unsurprisingly offers HX-class CPUs from AMD and Intel, along with the latest Blackwell GPUs and a matte mini-LED display with a 300-Hz refresh rate. There is also a fast PCIe 5.0 SSD, and every recent game can be played smoothly in the native display resolution. We are already looking forward to testing the AMD version with the mighty Ryzen 9 9955HX3D, as XMG is one of the few manufacturers to offer that. Gaming performance should be breathtaking on it.

XMG's Neo 16 is the fastest gamer from XMG, as well as the fastest 16-inch gamer we have ever tested. Thanks to optional water cooling, it can run even quieter and faster, CPU-wise. AMD CPU-powered models offer an edge over Intel.

The XMG Neo 16 E25 can be ordered from Bestware. The Intel variant's base price is 2,699 euros.

The 2025 model of the ROG Zephyrus G16 gets an RTX 5090, a Core Ultra 9 285H, Wi-Fi 7 and 64 GB of RAM. This slim high-end all-rounder directly competes with the Razer Blade 16.

The 2025 update of the ROG Zephyrus G16 offers several upgrades. Its performance is higher thanks to Arrow Lake and the new GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU, and so is its price.

In Germany, the Republic of Gamers machine can be ordered from online retailers such as Alternate for €4,789.

Razer knows how to build the thinnest, yet quiet and fast enough gaming laptops. The latest Blade 18 wants to offer maximum gaming performance with a GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU and a dual-mode display resolving at up to 440 Hz. Its improved cooling is impressive, making the Blade 18 one of the least obtrusive systems when gaming.

Razer's 18-inch Blade has impressive cooling and is among the quietest models on the market when gaming, even in Turbo mode. Its RTX 5090 delivers very good performance.

The Blade is by no means cheap; in Germany, the machine can be ordered from Amazon.de for 4,899 euros, among other options.

Apart from its high performance, the Legion 9 18IAX10 offers more RAM and SSD expansion options than rival 18-inch laptops like the Razer Blade 18, Alienware 18 Area-51 or MSI Titan 18 HX. It is quieter than many other options as well.

Although Lenovo's 18-inch Legion 9 is a little late to the 18-inch gaming party, it is easily one of the best devices in its size class.

The Legion 9 18IAX10 is currently available on the German-speaking market directly from Lenovo for ~5,400 euros, and also from Amazon.de for ~5,499 euros. Both SKUs linked are equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090.

Asus ups the ante when it comes to GPU performance by equipping its latest 14-inch ROG Zephyrus G14 with a GeForce RTX 5080 laptop GPU. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, is combined with 64 GB of memory, with image fed to a 2.8K 120-Hz OLED panel.

With the two powerful GPU options on offer, an RTX 5070 Ti and an RTX 5080, the 2025 ROG Zephyrus G14 is unrivaled in the 14-inch size category.

Our high-end test configuration has an RRP of €3,899. The somewhat slower RTX 5070 Ti-powered SKU (2-TB SSD, 32-GB RAM) costs 3,399 euros and can be ordered from Notebooksbilliger, as well as other e-tailers.

The Erazer Beast 16 X1 Ultimate is one of the fastest gaming notebooks on the market, and is compatible with optional external liquid cooling. Its casing looks and feels high-quality thanks to metal elements; input devices and connections are not bad, either. The 16:10 aspect ratio mini-LED panel resolving at 2,560 x 1,600 pixels and 300 Hz impresses with its high brightness, rich contrasts and wide color gamut.

Medion's Erazer Beast 16 X1 is a high-quality gaming and content creation notebook with a brilliant display and strong performance, but also high noise levels.

The Erazer Beast, model MD62732, is available for around €4,000 from Medion.

This ROG Strix Scar is the 16-inch gaming flagship from Asus that, not unlike its 18-inch brother, offers a Core Ultra 275HX, a GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU with 24 GB of VRAM, and a mini-LED display with 240 Hz. The gaming performance of this smaller model is outstanding with sustainability even better than the Scar 16. The mini-LED display is excellent, offering extensive features and operating modes, with pre-set color profiles delivering very goo results. Compared to the regular ROG Strix G16, the Strix Scar 16 benefits above all from the mini-LED panel, which comes at a cost, of course. 500 euros, to be specific.

The ROG Strix Scar 16 is just as fast as the Scar 18 and has an excellent mini-LED display, too.

The Strix Scar 16 G635 is available in various configurations starting from €3,799 (RTX 5080 model) at Notebooksbilliger among other options.

Asus's larger gaming flagship, the Strix Scar 18, is now powered by a Core Ultra 9 275HX and a GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU while its outstanding mini-LED display resolves at 240 Hz. User access to the components has been massively simplified and there is extensive lighting to make the casing more visually appealing.

The ROG Strix Scar 18 is the gaming flagship from Asus. With the new Core Ultra 9 275HX and GeForce RTX 5090, some of the fastest components available are used, the housing has been refreshed and the mini-LED display with 240 Hz is very impressive.

The 18-inch Asus ROG Strix Scar (2025) is available in stores starting from around 5,800 euros.

XMG's Apex 16 Max is a gaming laptop with a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti laptop GPU, a fast AMD Fire Range HX processor and a mini-LED panel resolving at 300 Hz.

The Apex 16 Max focuses fully on gaming performance and delivers convincing results. With the mini-LED panel, HDR gaming in particular is a lot of fun.

The XMG Apex 16 Max can be configured at Bestware for 2,099 euros or more.

With the Fusion 16, XMG offers a slightly more powerful version of the familiar Core 16. The star of this show is the new OLED panel, offering outstanding picture quality and even more vivid images compared to the IPS display option.

Overall, the new XMG Fusion 16 is a good product. The OLED screen is worth it if you want the best picture quality.

The Fusion 16 can be ordered from XMG starting from 1,899 euros. Our test system costs around 2,700 euros due to being significantly more powerful.