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MagyarThe Best Gaming Notebooks
The high-end gaming segment does not allow for any compromises. Powered by the latest graphics chips and processors the following gaming notebooks will offer performance at a level similar to that of current desktop computers. Even current and particular demanding PC games will run smoothly in high resolutions and high details. In addition, displays with high refresh rates ensure the highest level of competitiveness possible.
In order to satisfy the increasing number of gaming notebooks we have outsourced the best high-end laptops weighing less than 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) with a maximum thickness of 2 cm (0.8 inches) as well as the best budget gaming notebooks that cost less than 1,500 Euros onto their separate dedicated lists:
- The Best Thin & Light Gaming Notebooks (lightweight and thin gaming laptops)
- The Best Budget Gaming Notebooks (affordable gaming laptops)
The Best Gaming Laptops
The table above contains an overview over the best 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.
Link: all devices in this class reviewed
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Editors' Comments
This month, we welcome the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 to this top list.
1st – Asus ROG Zephyrus S17
One of the more exotic contenders but also one of the best. The entire keyboard can be raised out of its base to improve airflow, which turns the ZS17 into a rather quiet gaming notebook despite its i9-11900H and RTX 3080.
In addition to great performance the Zephyrus S17 offers highlights rarely found on gaming laptops, such as for example a quiet mode of operation and long battery life.
The ROG Zephyrus S17 is currently not available in North America but listed on Amazon nevertheless, albeit without a price at the time of writing.
Pricecompare
2nd – Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model
Where would you possibly find a 1080p webcam in a laptop – Apple’s MacBook? Microsoft’s Surface? Nope, it’s Razer’s gaming laptop Razer Blade Advanced. It features decent hardware and performance (i9-11800H, RTX 3080) but gets much hotter and louder than the larger Zephyrus in return.
Tiger Lake offers a huge boost in CPU performance. In addition, the laptop features one of the most “modern” webcams currently available.
At the time of writing the best way to purchase a Razer Blade Advanced Model was Razer’s own web shop.
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, for University Students, Best Displays
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤6-inch, Camera Smartphones
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3rd – Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YD
Equipped with a Intel Core i9-11980HK and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 the Aero 17 HDR YD offers great system and gaming performance. Paired with its very good 4K HDR display the laptop is interesting for gamers and creators alike, particularly given that it is fairly quite when not gaming.
The Aero 17 HDR YD is a powerful laptop with RTX 3080 and a very good 4K HRD display for gamers and creators.
The notebook is currently not yet available.
Pricecompare
4th – Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model (Early 2021)
Unlike the Aero 17 HRD the RBAM2021 features a Comet Lake CPU. However, thanks to its Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 it still manages to offer plenty of oomph. Razer performed some minor tweaks and updates for its 2021 model year. The display’s refresh rate is now a blazingly fast 360 Hz, the device offers a secondary SSD slot, and battery life was further optimized.
The Razer Blade Advanced Model 2021 offers a 360 Hz display, good battery life, and a powerful RTX 3080.
Prices start at around $2,600 for the GTX 3070-equipped SKU and $3,100 for our GTX 3080-equipped review unit. The device is available through Razer’s own webstore as well as the usual retail channels, such as Amazon.
Pricecompare
5th – Razer Blade Pro 17 (2021)
The Razer Blade Pro 17 is not only regularly found in our top 10 list but also a hot candidate for the very top, and the 2021 model year is no exception. Our review unit featured a Core i7-10875H CPU paired with a GeForce RTX 3080 (100 W TGP) and was capable of running all current games smoothly albeit not always in maximum details and 4K resolution. As is typical for Razer the case is very sleek, which is to be expected given its price. Downsides include high temperature and noise emissions under load.
The Razer Blade Pro 17 comes with a throttled RTX 3080 in a good-looking case. Temperature and noise emissions are in need of further tweaking and improvement.
Prices start at $2,700 for the GTX 3070-equipped SKU and $3,200 for our GTX 3080-equipped review unit. The device is available through Razer's own webstore as well as the usual retail channels, such as Amazon.
Pricecompare
6th – Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YC
The Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YC features an extremely bright and color-accurate 4K UHD panel that manages to bring its GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 105 W TGP to its knees every now and then. The slim and visually unobtrusive case is aimed at gamers and creators alike, and thanks to its long battery life and a moderate weight considering its large 17-inch display the device is even somewhat portable. We also liked its Thunderbolt 3 port. On the flip side, we were not particularly fond of its webcam’s placement, its port distribution, and its keyboard backlight (no backlight for secondary characters).
The great UHD display manages to bring the slightly throttled RTX 3080 to its knees. The visually discreet case is aimed at creators as well.
The high-end SKU is available on Amazon and sells for $3,900.
Pricecompare
7th – Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16
With its AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, its NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU with 140 W TGP, and its 32 GB of RAM this powerful 16-inch laptop comes with a 16:10 display running at 2560 x 1600 with HDR-400 support.
The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is no Arc Reactor but a solid piece of hardware without noteworthy downsides.
The device is available on Amazon with prices starting at just shy of $2,000.
Pricecompare
8th – Asus Strix Scar 17 G733QS
AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900HX in Asus’s Strix Scar 17 G773QS incredibly well and is surprisingly efficient. Paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU it offers everything that gamers could possibly want. Unfortunately, it lacks Thunderbolt 3 and offers an overall rather poor connectivity. However, its performance is top notch.
AMD’s Ryzen 9 paired with Nvidia’s RTX 3080 allows the Asus Strix Scar 17 to perform incredibly well. Unfortunately, Asus skimped on the device’s connectivity.
Prices start at $2,700 according to Asus’s website where the device is currently sold out. A single SKU is listed on Amazon for $4,300.
Pricecompare
9th – MSI GE76 Raider 10UH
The brand-new MSI GE76 Raider stormed right to 3rd place back in April of 2021. Equipped with an Intel Core i7-10870H and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU the 17-inch device is a true gaming powerhouse.
So what exactly is it that deserves 3rd place? According to our review editor, the new design is cooler, quieter, and faster than expected when compared to other similarly equipped laptops. In other words: the MSI GE76 is capable of fully utilizing its Core i7 CPU’s and GeForce GTX 3080 GPU’s full potential, much more so than other gaming notebooks in its category. Its main drawback is its high weight, which, however, should not come as a big surprise for anyone looking for a 17-inch gaming notebook.
The MSI GE76 Raider is quieter, cooler, a,d faster than most of its competitors. On the flip side, it is slightly heavier.
Pricecompare
10th – Asus Zephyrus Duo 15 SE
Asus has proved time and again in the past that they have an instinct for particularly exceptional and innovative notebook designs, and the Zephyrus Duo 15 SE is yet another example as this 15-inch gaming notebook comes with not just one but two displays. The secondary display can be freely configured to display additional information for specific applications or games. Whether or not you really need this unsurprisingly rather pricey feature is up to you. At 2.5 kg it barely made the thin & light top 10.
Our review unit featured a Ryzen 9 5900HX as well as a GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (130 W TDP) for massive gaming power limited somewhat by the main display’s high 4K resolution (3840 x 2160). Unlike before the 4K display now supports 120 instead of just 60 Hz.
A Ryzen 9 CPU paired with a RTX 3080 GPU and a 120 Hz 4K display - what else could you possibly want in a gaming laptop?
Officially, the Asus Zephyrus Duo 15 SE is available in three different models: GX55QM with RTX 3060, GX551QR with RTX 3070, and GX551QS with RTX 3080). At the time of writing no major US retailer carried this notebook.
Pricecompare
Comparison of the Top 10 Gaming Laptops
Test Results
| Asus ROG Zephyrus S17 GX703HSD | Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model Core i7-11800H | Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YD | Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model Early 2021 | Razer Blade Pro 17 2021 Touch 4K, i7-10875H RTX 3080 | Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YC | Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16ACH6H 5800H, RTX 3070 | Asus Strix Scar 17 G733QSA-XS99 | MSI GE76 Raider 10UH | Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE GX551QS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | ||||||||||
| Display P3 Coverage | 94.2 | 66.9 | 86.86 | 65.88 | 88.6 | 87.29 | 71 | 71.81 | 89.06 | |
| sRGB Coverage | 98.7 | 97.1 | 99.99 | 96.38 | 99.98 | 100 | 99 | 99.41 | 98.09 | 99.91 |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 84.4 | 69 | 99.63 | 67.97 | 99.94 | 99.95 | 73 | 72.22 | 73.92 | 99.11 |
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 4.8 | 4.2 (2.6, 1.6) | 52 (25.2, 26.8) | 16 (7.6, 8.4) | 15.2 (7.6, 7.6) | 51.6 (25.6, 26) | 9.2 | 6.6 (2.2, 4.4) | 20.4 (9.2, 11.2) | 8.2 (3, 5.2) |
| Response Time Black / White * | 8 | 10 (5.2, 4.8) | 26 (10, 16) | 10.4 (6, 4.4) | 12 (6, 6) | 24.8 (10, 14.8) | 4.8 | 10.8 (5.2, 5.6) | 10 (5.2, 4.8) | 10.4 (5.2, 5.2) |
| PWM Frequency | 151500 | |||||||||
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 322 | 353.4 | 488 | 338 | 407.2 | 458 | 551 | 303.8 | 324.6 | 406 |
| Brightness | 288 | 340 | 467 | 334 | 403 | 446 | 523 | 292 | 312 | 407 |
| Brightness Distribution | 72 | 92 | 86 | 94 | 90 | 92 | 88 | 85 | 87 | 88 |
| Black Level * | 0.3 | 0.31 | 0.33 | 0.24 | 0.42 | 0.37 | 0.54 | 0.23 | 0.28 | 0.42 |
| Contrast | 1073 | 1140 | 1479 | 1408 | 970 | 1238 | 1020 | 1321 | 1159 | 967 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 3.05 | 2.17 | 1.23 | 1.39 | 7.25 | 1.52 | 1.8 | 1.87 | 3.87 | 4.36 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 5.23 | 5.69 | 2.94 | 3.31 | 12.51 | 2.51 | 2.53 | 3.26 | 9.35 | 7.55 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 calibrated * | 1.92 | 1.05 | 0.77 | 0.97 | 3.62 | 0.66 | 1.66 | 1.45 | 1.42 | 3.63 |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 3.11 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 8.1 | 1.9 | 1.85 | 2.7 | 6.5 | 3.1 |
| Gamma | 2.13 103% | 2.2 100% | 2.169 101% | 2.291 96% | 2.24 98% | 2.145 103% | 2.3 96% | 2.26 97% | 2.23 99% | 2.36 93% |
| CCT | 6553 99% | 6830 95% | 6614 98% | 6626 98% | 5925 110% | 6534 99% | 6338 103% | 6436 101% | 5702 114% | 6371 102% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 84 | 99 | 68 | 88.1 | 100 | 72.81 | 65.6 | 66.3 | 86.7 | |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 99 | 99 | 89 | 100 | 100 | 99.41 | 99.4 | 98 | 99.9 | |
| Noise | ||||||||||
| off / environment * | 23 | 25.1 | 25 | 24 | 26.1 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 25.3 | 27 |
| Idle Minimum * | 23 | 25.3 | 30 | 26 | 26.1 | 30 | 25 | 25.2 | 26.1 | 27 |
| Idle Average * | 23 | 25.3 | 32 | 28 | 26.5 | 32 | 25 | 25.2 | 26.1 | 27 |
| Idle Maximum * | 23 | 25.3 | 41 | 40 | 30.7 | 36 | 25 | 25.2 | 26.1 | 27 |
| Load Average * | 41 | 42 | 43 | 45 | 43.5 | 45 | 35.5 | 30.7 | 37.2 | 31.2 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 45 | 45.6 | 51 | 43 | 54 | 42 | 46.67 | 51.3 | 36.8 | 44.5 |
| Load Maximum * | 52 | 51.6 | 59 | 45 | 55 | 49 | 50.35 | 51.3 | 56.9 | 53.5 |
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 59 | 51 | 44 | 49 | 38.2 | 51 | 50 | 40 | 41 | 33.4 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 53 | 52 | 56 | 54 | 42.2 | 58 | 55 | 39.8 | 48.8 | 45 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 35 | 35.2 | 32 | 30 | 33.6 | 29 | 34 | 34.6 | 31.8 | 30.8 |
| Idle Bottom * | 35 | 37.8 | 35 | 32 | 36.2 | 34 | 37 | 38.4 | 36 | 35.4 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 866 | 593 | 620 | 548 | 797 | 494 | 407 | |||
| WiFi v1.3 | 449 | 353 | 334 | 538 | 356 | 354 | 420 | 559 | 375 | 315 |
| Witcher 3 ultra | 62 | |||||||||
| Load | 162 | 70 | 120 | 86 | 92 | 44 | 86 | 101 | 71 | |
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 21.7 | 19.5 | 25 | 13 | 15.2 | 17 | 10.45 | 10.9 | 15.5 | 16.3 |
| Idle Average * | 27 | 23.3 | 28 | 15 | 20.3 | 21 | 14.92 | 14.7 | 31.3 | 22.5 |
| Idle Maximum * | 33 | 40.1 | 40 | 22 | 37.3 | 33 | 16.02 | 26.8 | 31.7 | 39.9 |
| Load Average * | 108 | 98.9 | 114 | 98 | 114.9 | 113 | 119.65 | 106.7 | 93.6 | 116.1 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 195 | 174 | 176 | 126 | 158.4 | 157 | 174.85 | 192.4 | 233 | 181.2 |
| Load Maximum * | 210 | 214 | 236 | 165 | 223.7 | 237 | 187.26 | 228.4 | 260.3 | 196.7 |
* ... smaller is better
