The Best Thin & Light Gaming Notebooks
"Mobile gaming" - what sounded like a poor joke a few years ago has already become common practice; at least in the notebook range. Processors and graphics cards are getting smaller and more power-efficient, which makes cooling easier. As a result, powerful components can be packed into slimmer and slimmer cases. Although 17-inch powerhouses still dominate the 15-inch and smaller range is steadily growing.
The following table shows an overview of the Top 10 gaming laptops reviewed by Notebookcheck in the previous 12 months that weigh less than 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) and are less than 2.0 cm (0.8 inches) thick. More gaming rankings from Notebookcheck:
The Best Thin and Light Gaming Laptops
The table above contains an overview over the best thin & light gaming notebooks reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Editors' Comments
1st - Razer Blade 15 (2020 Advanced)
The Razer Blade 15 is not only available in a base configuration (see below) but also a better equipped advanced edition. The 2020 model of the latter includes a vapor-chamber cooler, a high-quality 300 Hz display, and well-made input devices.
The reason why the device barely missed our "Very good" rating (88% and more) are some minor details rather than major compromises, for example fairly high palm rest and power supply temperatures. Gaming power is abundant, thanks to aCore i7-10875H and a GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q. Our review of the even more expensive SKU equipped with an RTX 2080 Super Max-Q can be found here.
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2nd - Razer Blade 15 (2020 base model)
Razer manages to secure first place in our mobile gaming top 10 list with its 2020Blade 15 base model that scored a very respectable 86% in our test. Despite its small case Razer includes only high-end hardware, such as aCore i7-10750H and a GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q. The images are cast on a OLED display with a resolution of 3840 x 2160.
In addition to first-class performance the Blade 15 also offers simple maintenance, a robust and good-looking case, and modern connectivity. On the flip side it gets comparatively hot and its battery life is fairly poor.
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1.000 USD/Euros
Best Displays, for University Students
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤5-inch, Camera SmartphonesThe Best Smartphones for Less Than 160 Euros
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3rd - Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED XB
Gigabyte's more recentAero 15 update brings us a new very thin case that remains rather conservative in design. One of its most noteworthy features is the bright high-contrast OLED display. Unfortunately, it suffers from noticeable reflections due to its glossy surface. The device was also fairly loud under load. Our review unit was equipped with a Core i7-10875H and a GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q.
Connectivity is plentiful, the built-in Wi-Fi modem is very fast, and the overall design with its slim bezels is definitely very attractive.
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4th - Alienware m15 R3
TheAlienware m15 R3 is basically the miniaturized version of the much bulkier Area-51m. Instead of a desktop CPU it is equipped with a traditional notebook CPU paired with a GeForce RTX 2070. This, in turn, helped Dell's engineers to lower the weight to around 2.3 kg and its thickness to just 2 cm, which means the m15 qualified for our think and light top 10. As is typical for Alienware the device featured a high-quality case with slim bezels, plenty of connectivity (including Thunderbolt 3), unique visuals, and various lighting options. Keep in mind that Optimus is not supported on SKUs equipped with the 300 Hz display.
We did not particularly like the overall depth, the limited opening angle, and the device's noise emissions under 3D load. Other downsides include the soldered RAM and Wi-Fi modem as well as the microSD card reader instead of a full-sized one.
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5th - Donor Key 15
TheDonor Key 15 is based on the PC50DN2 Clevochassis that combines a slim profile with powerful hardware. You will be hard pressed to find more powerful hardware than a Core i7-10875H and a GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q in a device weighing less than 4.4 lbs with a case that is less than 0.8 inches thick.
Thanks to its customizable hardware the Key 15 can be individually customized to your liking. Benefits include the 144 Hz FHD panel with a 4K OLED option as well as the Thunderbolt 3 port. On the flip side its temperatures and noise emissions under load were too high.
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6th - Asus Zephyrus Duo 15
In the last few years, Asus managed to repeatedly impress its users with uncommon and innovative notebook concepts, and theZephyrus Duo 15 is another perfect example for their cunning courage. The 15-inch gaming device offers not one but two displays. The second screen can be individually adjusted to one's liking and display additional information in games and applications. Whether or not this feature is worth its hefty price tag is up to you. At 2.5 kg the Zephyrus Duo 15 barely made our thin and light top 10.
The SKU reviewed by us, the GX550LXS, included aCore i9-10980HK as well as a GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Qand thus a massive amount of gaming power. That said the G-sync-capable 4K display with a native resolution of 3840 x 2160, a 60 Hz refresh rate, and mediocre response times managed to bring the device to its knees occasionally. These downsides are however overshadowed by the laptop's overall performance, including its X-Rite Pantone certification.
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7th - MSI GS75 10SF
If you're a fan of large displays, you will rejoice at the fact that the GS65 is finally available with a 17-inch display as well. Our review unit, the GS75 10SF, including a Core i7-10875H, a GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q, and a total of 32 GB of RAM. Other benefits include its low weight, its thin build, its decent battery life, and last but not least its 240 Hz display.
The case, on the other hand, was a mixed bag. One the one hand it offered great design and choice of material, on the other its rigidity was poor and in dire need of improvement. Fan control and maintenance options were also comparatively poor, and we would wish for MSI to improve upon these.
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8th: Asus Zephyrus G14
There are two reasons why theZephyrus G14 is an interesting device. For starters, there is hardly any 14-inch gaming laptop on the market, and only a few high-end models are equipped with AMD CPU. Asus shows quite impressively that this combination works. TheRyzen 9 4900HS and theMax-Q version of theGeForce RTX 2060 are powerful enough for smooth gameplay in almost all modern titles on the high-contrast FHD screen (120 Hz). The extremely light and compact chassis is another highlight.
We were slightly disappointed by the fan behavior, the battery runtime, and the port selection.
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9th - Asus ROG Zephyrus S15
The sheer number of thin and light gaming notebooks by Asus is so immense that it is very easy to lose track. One of the best contenders is the Zephyrus S15which comes with a Core i7-10875H and a GeForce RTX 2070 Super. Keep in mind this is the regular model, not the Max-Q variant.
The thin 15-inch case offers surprisingly high sound quality, although you should keep in mind that just like almost all of its competitors the S15's fans get incredibly loud when gaming. Battery life was also fairly short despite support for dynamic graphics switching.
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10th - MSI GS66 10SFS
A wolf in sheep's clothing, that is the best and most fitting description for the MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS. Some gaming notebooks are quite bulky, hefty, and designed very playfully in order to attract potential customers. MSI's 15-inch gaming notebook is quite the contrary: a thin, light-weight yet sturdy case with a design language that can be best described as understatement. Only its colorful RGB keyboard backlight shows the device's true heritage.
Underneath, we find up-to-date hardware. ACore i9-10980HK paired with a very hot and rather noisy Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q GPU and a blazingly fast 300 Hz display. In order to improve battery life MSI opted against G-Sync and for Optimus support instead. A wise choice considering the device's overall portability.
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Top 10 in Comparison
Test Results
Razer Blade 15 RTX 2070 Super Max-Q | Razer Blade 15 RZ09-0328 | Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED XB-8DE51B0SP | Alienware m15 R3 P87F | Schenker Key 15 Comet Lake | Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 GX550LXS | MSI GS75 10SF-609US | Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IV | Asus Zephyrus S15 GX502L | MSI GS66 Stealth 10SFS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Response Times | ||||||||||
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 3.2 (1.4, 1.8) | 2.7 (1.2, 1.5) | 2.2 (1, 1.2) | 4 (1.6, 2.4) | 10 (5.2, 4.8) | 56.4 (26.4, 30) | 5 (2.2, 2.8) | 43.6 (21.2, 22.4) | 14 (6.8, 7.2) | 14 (6.8, 7.2) |
Response Time Black / White * | 8 (4, 4) | 2.6 (1.1, 1.5) | 1.8 (1, 0.8) | 10.8 (5.2, 5.6) | 9.2 (4.4, 4.8) | 24.4 (10, 14.4) | 6.6 (2.6, 4) | 34.8 (20.4, 14.4) | 9.6 (5.2, 4.4) | 9.6 (5.2, 4.4) |
PWM Frequency | 59.52 (100) | 60 (80) | ||||||||
Screen | ||||||||||
Brightness middle | 345.4 | 366.7 | 385 | 326.7 | 300 | 398 | 299.4 | 322.2 | 283 | 316 |
Brightness | 342 | 371 | 390 | 316 | 281 | 385 | 299 | 302 | 289 | 311 |
Brightness Distribution | 90 | 91 | 93 | 87 | 80 | 90 | 84 | 87 | 90 | 92 |
Black Level * | 0.34 | 0.33 | 0.29 | 0.28 | 0.31 | 0.26 | 0.24 | 0.21 | ||
Contrast | 1016 | 990 | 1034 | 1421 | 966 | 1239 | 1179 | 1505 | ||
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 3.18 | 5.21 | 2.46 | 2.4 | 5.39 | 1.53 | 1.82 | 2.43 | 2.26 | 3.03 |
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 6.57 | 7.92 | 4.01 | 6.06 | 14.35 | 3.69 | 3.91 | 5.07 | 5.64 | 7.32 |
Colorchecker DeltaE2000 calibrated * | 1.77 | 2.6 | 1.51 | 1.73 | 0.77 | 1.59 | 2.29 | 1.11 | 1.1 | |
Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 3.8 | 2 | 1.39 | 3.2 | 9.8 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
Gamma | 2.15 102% | 2.17 101% | 2.31 95% | 2.13 103% | 2.019 109% | 2.19 100% | 2.18 101% | 2.22 99% | 2.228 99% | 2.42 91% |
CCT | 7109 91% | 6514 100% | 6395 102% | 7129 91% | 8174 80% | 6996 93% | 6837 95% | 6902 94% | 7249 90% | 7439 87% |
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 64.3 | 86.6 | 98 | 63.7 | 69 | 100 | 67.1 | 60 | 71 | 65 |
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 99 | 100 | 100 | 99.2 | 92 | 100 | 99.8 | 91.9 | 93 | 100 |
Noise | ||||||||||
off / environment * | 27 | 28.4 | 30 | 26.3 | 25 | 30 | 26.2 | 28.1 | 25 | 30 |
Idle Minimum * | 27 | 28.4 | 34 | 26.7 | 26 | 33 | 31.2 | 30.4 | 28 | 32 |
Idle Average * | 27 | 28.4 | 36 | 26.7 | 27 | 34 | 31.4 | 31.5 | 31 | 34 |
Idle Maximum * | 27 | 31.7 | 41 | 30.7 | 44 | 35 | 34 | 33.7 | 36 | 39 |
Load Average * | 44.7 | 47.7 | 48 | 40.2 | 53 | 48 | 49.5 | 34.3 | 56 | 53 |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 51.2 | 47.5 | 48 | 51 | 51 | 48 | 50.6 | 53.5 | 55 | 48 |
Load Maximum * | 54 | 49.5 | 54 | 59.7 | 53 | 49 | 60.7 | 53.5 | 57 | 53 |
Heat | ||||||||||
Maximum Upper Side * | 50 | 49.6 | 49 | 55.8 | 52 | 43 | 49.8 | 36 | 51 | 53 |
Maximum Bottom * | 52.2 | 50.2 | 61 | 62 | 62 | 53 | 55.6 | 46.4 | 44 | 55 |
Idle Upper Side * | 37.2 | 32.2 | 27 | 43.4 | 31 | 32 | 28.2 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
Idle Bottom * | 41.4 | 34.6 | 29 | 42 | 33 | 31 | 32.2 | 32 | 30 | 29 |
Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
Reader / Idle | 518 | 299 | 418 | 480 | 513 | 1140 | 520 | 505 | ||
WiFi v1.3 | 380 | 241 | 364 | 167 | 289 | 185 | 295 | 577 | 181 | 364 |
Load | 166 | 44 | 80 | 72 | 243 | 109 | 90 | 102 | ||
Power Consumption | ||||||||||
Idle Minimum * | 14.3 | 11.1 | 18 | 34 | 10 | 23 | 19.2 | 5.5 | 7 | 13 |
Idle Average * | 22.3 | 13.7 | 21 | 48.6 | 14 | 30 | 22.4 | 9.3 | 13 | 16 |
Idle Maximum * | 36.9 | 33.4 | 38 | 58.2 | 18 | 39 | 34.7 | 15.8 | 25 | 27 |
Load Average * | 118.4 | 104.4 | 113 | 129.4 | 106 | 156 | 106.7 | 92.2 | 148 | 109 |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 153.7 | 159.9 | 149 | 214.5 | 142 | 152 | 160.5 | 112.4 | 175 | 155 |
Load Maximum * | 220.8 | 203.8 | 256 | 257.3 | 210 | 208 | 248.7 | 156.6 | 232 | 236 |
* ... smaller is better