Ranking: Best thin-and-light gaming laptops

The new Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2024 no longer focuses on maximum performance, instead Asus wants to appeal to a larger customer group with a slimmer and more compact aluminum chassis. The result is an excellent gaming/multimedia hybrid with plenty of power.

The new ROG Zephyrus G14 is probably the best all-round notebook currently on the market. Asus combines a lot of positive features in a very high-quality and compact aluminum case with great input devices and excellent speakers, only the soldered RAM is a clear disadvantage.

The new ROG Zephyrus G14 will be available from 15.02.2024 and can already be pre-ordered. Our test configuration for €2,499 is already listed at Cyberport, for example, while the smaller version with the RTX 4060 laptop and 16 GB RAM costs €2,099.

With the new ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 asus is presenting a completely new and significantly thinner design that is intended to appeal to other target groups in addition to gamers. The result is a high-quality 16-inch computer with a great OLED panel and excellent speakers that can easily compete with Apple's MacBook Pro or the Razer Blade 16.

High-quality and lightweight aluminum housing, great OLED screen and excellent speakers: Thanks to its powerful hardware, the new ROG Zephyrus G16 can of course still display the latest games, but with the 2024 model, Asus is moving more towards high-end multimedia. Even if you don't have any gaming ambitions, it's worth taking a look at the new Zephyrus G16.

The new ROG Zephyrus G16 will be available in stores from February 15, 2024 and individual configurations are already listed. At online retailer Cyberport, for example, it currently starts at 2,299 euros.

The Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 is the most impressive model in the series so far, even in the cheapest configuration without RTX 4070 graphics or the stylish mini LED screen. It offers a real alternative to the XPS 16 or MacBook Pro 16. Its IPS display, performance and size are competitive with the Dell or Apple equivalents, while it is easier to maintain and has a better keyboard than the XPS.

The AI-enabled Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16IMH9 is not only a great alternative to the Dell XPS 16 or MacBook Pro 16, but it does a few things better than both.

Currently, Amazon is offering the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16 configuration, for 1,900 euros.

Razer is starting the new year strong with a small but solid update to its smallest Blade series. Most users will probably miss the AI improvements in the CPU, but the small changes to the GPU ensure that the 2024 Blade overtakes its predecessor.

If you are not interested in CPU AI or Wi-Fi 7, you may be convinced by the slight increase in graphics performance of the 2024 Blade 14. If not, the visually identical 2023 model offers almost the same performance for less money.

In Germany, our test configuration is available from various online retailers for €2,999, including Cyberport, Notebooksbilliger and even Media Markt.

With the ProArt P16, Asus is launching a powerful 16-inch model that combines a new AMD Zen 5 processor with the dedicated GeForce RTX 4070 laptop, 64 GB RAM and a high-resolution 4K OLED touchscreen.

With the ProArt P16, Asus offers a comparatively light and compact powerhouse for creative users who need a touchscreen and are willing to sacrifice a higher frequency. However, the top version with 64 GB RAM is also extremely expensive.

The new ProArt P16 can be configured and ordered directly from Asus. Our top configuration is around 4,000 euros!

Asus only equips the most powerful models of the ROG Zephyrus G16 with vapor-chamber cooling - we test the high-end model with the Core Ultra 9 185H and the GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop. The Asus Zephyrus G16 2024 is a thin and comparatively light gaming laptop that is also suitable for other target groups such as content creators or multimedia users. With the choice of the RTX 4090 laptop, however, the focus is naturally on graphics performance.

With the ROG Zephyrus G16, Asus offers a very compact 16-inch laptop with the GeForce RTX 4090 laptop. However, good mobility requires compromises in performance and other RTX 4090 models have advantages when it comes to gaming performance.

The RRP for the ROG Zephyrus G16 with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 laptop is €4,299 and the model can be ordered, for example, from Amazon, Notebooksbilliger or directly from Asus can be ordered.

The new Asus ProArt PX13 is a compact 13.3-inch convertible that is primarily aimed at creative users who are looking for a device that is as compact as possible with plenty of performance. It comes with the brand new Zen 5 mobile processors from AMD in combination with dedicated GeForce GPUs from Nvidia. A high-resolution OLED panel with 2,880 x 1,800 pixels is used as the screen, but only at 60 Hz.

Thanks to the new AMD Zen 5 processor and the GeForce RTX 4070 laptop, the new ProArt is the fastest 13.3-inch device currently available to buy. It also has an excellent keyboard and plenty of ports. However, we don't understand why Asus opted for a 60 Hz OLED in view of the high price.

The new ProArt PX13 can now be ordered from Asus from €2,199. Our test configuration with the RTX 4070 laptop costs 2,999 euros.

The IdeaPad Pro 5 16 G9 is an all-rounder when equipped with the discrete GPU option. While the lower iGPU configuration is a respectable multimedia machine, the higher dGPU configuration is already a borderline gaming machine.

The IdeaPad Pro 5 16 G9 is faster than it looks at first glance, especially when equipped with the powerful 90WGeForce RTX 4050 GPU.

Only Costco is now offering the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 16 with the Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 4050 configuration for 1,500 US dollars (1,400 euros).

The list of 14-inch gaming notebooks is now growing with the HP Omen Transcend 14. It may not be as well known as the popular Razer Blade 14 or the Asus Zephyrus G14, but it has enough tricks up its sleeve to be a worthy competitor. The Omen Transcend 14 is designed for students or gamers who want to game, tinker and create anywhere, with an emphasis on portability. It is consequently one of the smallest and lightest notebooks in the Omen family with a screen size of just 14 inches.

The first 14-inch Omen notebook gets a lot right when it comes to looks, specs and price. It is significantly cheaper than the competition, but the performance is a little slower.

HP delivers the Omen Transcend 14 in the configuration of this test for 2,169 euros, while the configuration with Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 4070 is available for 2,699 euros.

The newer model supports up to two SSDs, offers faster black/white and gray/gray response times, longer battery life and AI acceleration.

The Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 addresses some of the drawbacks of its predecessor, making it an even better multimedia machine than before. However, the single-thread CPU performance and gaming performance take a small step backwards.

Our test configuration of Core Ultra 7, RTX 4060 and 1,600p currently ships directly from Dell for $1,300. The cheaper SKU with Core i7 with UHD Graphics starts at just 900 US dollars.