If you need your gaming to be portable, but still want to play the latest releases, you’ll need a laptop designed for the task
Most serious PC gamers spend a lot of time setting up their desktop systems; we’re talking machines that include the best GPUs, tons of RAM and a powerful CPU, capable of playing the latest games at the highest detail with the best frame rates. It’s almost an artform, and serving the needs of such demanding customers has always been to the forefront of the minds of those in the hardware industry, not least because of its a passionate community of early adopters.
However, one thing that this kind of PC gaming lacks is the ability to play anywhere, at any time. If you want to go around to a friend’s for some LAN gaming, or just want to relax on the couch, it’s not always an easy task. Desktop PCs just aren’t portable. They’re big, bulky, and restricted.
There is another option, one that grants access to the best PC games while also unshackling you from your desk: the laptop. Once the mainstay of the business world and those who wanted to work or communicate on the go, the humble laptop has grown in power from the limited device it once was. Now we have models that are more than capable of running the latest games, and some are even more powerful than some desktop alternatives.
If you’re one of the increasing number of gamers who choose to switch to a more mobile gaming solution, or you think it may be for you, you’ll probably be wondering what’s available, and what you should be looking for in a gaming laptop – and that’s what we’re going to be covering over the next few pages.
We’re going to look at the important things to look for in a gaming laptop, the differences between desktop and mobile gaming, and some of the best laptops around for various budgets. There are some pricey, but superb, options.
Laptop Vs Desktop
There’s not really much an argument about which is the best way to play games on PC. Most would agree that the very best route to take to get the most out of gaming is a desktop machine. No matter how powerful a gaming laptop might be, a desktop model will almost always win in terms of sheer muscle and flexibility. They’re bigger, they can handle more powerful hardware, and you can easily upgrade them. That’s what they’ve been designed for, after all.
Laptops, on the other hand, are designed to be compact, mobile and more flexible in terms of actual, physical use. Due to their smaller build and reliance on battery power (when not connected to the mains), they often run slower, less powerful components, and their upgrade potential is far less impressive.
That said, the laptop market never ceases to fight for its gaming credentials. Even though a desktop PC may be the pinnacle of PC gaming, most users can play games perfectly well on a laptop, with the added benefits they provide.
As they’re all-in-one units, there’s no fuss when it comes to setting up, there’s no need for a whole desk or office to set them up in, and you don’t need to spend a lot of money on a monitor. It’s all contained within the unit itself, a unit that can go anywhere, be it the lounge, a friend’s house, or a Cafe. Laptops often look pretty snazzy too, so that’s a bonus. That said, gaming laptops are often more expensive than an equivalent PC, so this has to be taken into account.
We’ve already mentioned the lack of customisation, though, and this is one area you really need to know about before choosing a gaming laptop. Laptops are specially built units designed in a very specific way. Unlike a desktop PC, which has plenty of room for expansion and is easy to open and tinker with, replacing parts as you see fit, laptops aren’t as welcoming. Some are upgradable to a point, but most are limited, and the unit you buy is the unit you’ll have until you get a new one, much like a games console. For this reason, it’s important to choose wisely, and make sure the model you go for has everything you need, and enough muscle to last for a good while. There’s no reason to shell out a hefty sum only to have to do so again in a year. So, let’s have a look at the most important features of any gaming laptop, along with one of the biggest technical specifications, the GPU.
Essential Features
Gaming laptops may be built differently from desktop PCs, but most of the same specifications are just as relevant. It may be harder to satisfy a feature check-list due to the nature of a laptop’s unique and specific build, but you really need to try to nail the majority of these features if you’re going to have a laptop with legs.
First the main specifications, as these are by far the most important, and we’ll start with the CPU. It’s essential that you look for the most powerful CPU you can get in your price bracket. The CPU will be given a large workload when gaming, so you’ll need a solid, multi-core CPU capable of handling this. Think at least Core i5 at the low end, and the best Core i7 if your budget can handle it. You can get AMD chips, of course, but the majority of the best gaming laptops focus on Intel’s CPUs.
Next the GPU, and this is arguably just as important as your choice of CPU. It’s also not as simple, as the kind of graphics card you pick isn’t limited to model, but the GPU’s format. Desktop PCs can have both onboard and dedicated graphics cards, and this also applies to laptops. Although you may think all laptop GPUs are onboard, given the lack of room, you’d be wrong. Laptops do come with both onboard, and dedicated GPUs, so it’s important to keep a keen eye on this specification.
A gaming system really needs a dedicated GPU. Onboard model are usually far less powerful, and take up a share of memory and resources like other onboard hardware. To get the best performance from your games, this isn’t the option for you. You need to look for laptops that have actual separate GPU chips; models from Nvidia, ATI and so on. These models should also be more powerful than the standard mobile versions of these companies’ hardware. You should also ensure the card has at least 2GB VRAM. Higher-end laptops can have much more VRAM, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
On the subject of RAM, the system RAM should also be taken care of, with at least 4-8GB of RAM fitted. Again, as with GPUs, you can get more, and you should do so if you can, but if you consider four as a minimum, you should be able to get in some serious gaming.
Storage is important, as many games are very large in size, and you’ll also need fast storage for the best performance in game. Many swear by SSD drives, and if you can afford a laptop fitted with a large enough SSD, go for it. Otherwise, pick a unit that has 1-2TB of HDD storage, with higher 7200RPM speeds. Energy saving HDDs are great for economising your power usage, but they can throttle data transfer speeds as they often run more slowly.
The laptop screen is another very important feature, and one that’s often overlooked as it’s always part of the whole unit. People often focus solely on the under the hood specifications, ignoring this aspect. This is a shame, as the laptop display is just as important as a monitor or TV choice for gaming. You’re going to be staring at it for prolonged periods don’t forget, so you’ll need a good quality display. Not only that, but the quality of the screen will also affect your gaming experience. Like PC monitors and TVs, you should make sure the screen has a good response rate, decent contrast, and a good viewing angle. It also needs a high gamut rating to better deliver the kind of colour detail you’ll need when gaming. Screen size is also an issue. For gaming, you’ll probably want a larger screen. Such laptops will tend to range from around 15-18”. The larger the screen, the bigger the laptop, so if you go for the big picture, be prepared to carry a heavier, bulkier unit.
The actual build of the laptop is something to take into account. You’ll obviously want a model that’s portable and not too heavy. Most gaming laptops are larger and heavier than standard, everyday models, but there’s still room to be picky. You should also make sure your model has a full keyboard, with cursors and a separate number pad, and plenty of inputs and outputs. The latter is important as you’ll likely need to connect external storage, game controllers and other USB devices, and if properly equipped, you’ll be able to connect multiple monitors to the unit, or connect it and output the display to a full-sized TV, giving you even more freedom. This can also overcome any shortcomings you may have in your laptop display. Look for VGA and HDMI outputs in particular.
Although laptops are notoriously difficult to upgrade in many ways, when it comes to RAM they’re easy, so make sure that your model has plenty of extra capacity so you can give it a boost if needed. The more future-proof your laptop, the better, as it’ll last you longer.
Finally, let’s consider power. There’s no way around it, but laptop batteries, no matter how expensive your model may be, just aren’t cut out for gaming or high-end use. Batteries used under such stress simply won’t last long, and you’ll be running out of juice very quickly. So, when getting into a serious session, you’ll have to be connected to the mains, that’s all there is to it. You could buy external power packs and even a UPS, but these, especially the latter, are large, cumbersome devices, and hardly contribute to portability. If you were to do this, you may as well strap your desktop PC and monitor to your back.
With all of that said, although they’re never amazing, some laptops come with batteries that are longer-lasting than others, so it’s worth checking this, as every bit of power helps when working or playing away from a mains supply.
These Are The Laptops You’re Looking For
Now let’s take a look at some of the more powerful examples around, including some that are a little more affordable, and some that represent the very best gaming laptops have to offer. Price will vary from vendor to vendor, so these are just guidelines.
Model: Origin EON15-X
Price: £1,600
The Origin EON15-X is an example of what can be achieved with great laptop design. This unit utilises a desktop-grade 4GHz Intel Core i7-4790K, with an Nvidia Geforce GTX980M 8GB GDDR5 RAM and an Intel HD Graphics 4600 onboard chip. There’s also 8GB of system RAM, a 240GB SDD, 1TB HDD (5200RPM), and the screen is a 15.6” 1920x1080 LED.
It obvious, then, that this laptop packs plenty of punch. That powerful CPU/GPU combination is more than enough to handle most things. However, while it has a colourful back-lit keyboard to boost the aesthetics, the very limited viewing angle of the screen is the Origin EON15-X’s most obvious drawback. It’s a little on the heavy side too, but these are niggles in an otherwise great gaming laptop.
Model: Aorus X7 Pro
Price: £2,000
This is a bit of a beast, packing an Intel Core i7 4870 2.5GHz CPU and 16GB of RAM. The graphics are handled by an SLI pairing of two Geforce GTX 970M GPUs with a combined 6GB of VRAM. Storage includes a 1TB HDD (7200RPM) and two 256GB SSDs.
Yes, it’s very pricey, but with the specs to back up its power, the Aorus X7 Pro is a desirable option for the seasoned gamer. It a bit loud, thanks to the cooling fans having a lot of work to do, but it’ll handle all of your gaming sessions.
Model: MSI GT80 Titan 2QE
Price: £5,000
Yes, unfortunately you read the price correctly! This mammoth laptop will cost you around £5,000, making it one of the most expensive off-the-shelf laptops you’ll find anywhere. It’s silly money, we’ll confess, but for this you get a very powerful gaming monster – and it’s good to have a dream, right?
The CPU is a Core i7-5950HQ 3.7GHz, and it sits alongside 32GB DDR3L RAM, dual Nvidia Geforce GTX 980M 8GB GPUs, 2048GB RAID SSD main drive, 2TB SSD storage, and includes a Blu-ray writer.
It’s on the ridiculous side of powerful in terms of specification, but in operation it’s impressive to behold. It’s easily capable of outperforming many desktop PCs but, of course, a downside to all that power (aside from that price) is it’s size and weight. This is a bulky unit, so isn’t the most portable laptop you’ll ever see, and it’s not really suited for constant travel.
This range from MSI comes in other guises too, with many more cheaper, but still powerful models, but this is amongst the highest end units, and a definite dream laptop.
Model: Gigabyte P35K v3
Price: £970
This is a fine example of a more budget-conscious option. It comes in at under £1,000, for which you get Intel’s Core i7-4720 2.6GHz CPU, an Nvidia Geforce GTX 965M 4GB, Intel HD Graphics 4600, and 8GB of system RAM. For storage you get a 128GB SDD and a 1TB hard drive (7200RPM).
The build quality of the Gigabyte P35K v3 is also impressive for the price. It has a thin, relatively lightweight, frame and a very high quality IPS display. Although it’s far cheaper than some of our other examples, it’s more than able to run games at the highest settings, and is a perfect choice for gamers on a budget who want a powerful system that won’t cost an arm and a leg.
Model: Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition
Price: £850
Yours for even less is this Acer Aspire variant, one of the more powerful of Acer’s popular range and designed for more demanding uses, including games. The CPU is a 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-4720HQ, and it has 8GB RAM and an Nvidia Geforce GTX 960M GPU. There’s a 1TB hybrid HDD for storage, too.
It isn’t as powerful as some other gaming laptops here, but it still packs enough punch to compete. It’s also got a quality 17.3” screen, which is one of the larger sizes you’ll, and a definite bonus .
Model: Asus G551JM
Price: £850
Asus’ Republic of Gamers range of PC hardware has become a favourite of many serious gamers, and this extends to its series of gaming laptops. This range includes some very powerful, and very expensive models, but we wanted to focus on the cheaper end for budget buyers, so we have this Intel Core i7-4710HQ 2.5GHz model. It features 8GB RAM, Nvidia Geforce GTX860M 2GB GPU, and 750GB HDD.
It’s a slick unit with a design that looks just as good as the more expensive models, and for it’s class as a cheaper model, it’s very capable. It performs well in both gaming and benchmarks, and the lower price means you’ll save money for some actual games to play on it, which I always good.
Model: 2015 Razer Blade
Price: £2,500
Noted by some to be one of the only truly thin laptops viable as a gaming machine, the Razer Blade is not only a looker, but a very strong performer. It comes at a cost, of course, but this is a truly remarkable system.
It’s core is an Intel i7 4720HQ 3.6GHz CPU with 16GB RAM and an Nvidia GTX 970M 3GB GPU. The screen is full HD, of course, and the overall build quality it just superb. What’s more, the battery should actually last over three hours in full flight, much more than most similar laptops, and the whole thing is very light considering the power it contains.
It’s expensive, but this is one laptop that lives up to the price in pretty much every way, from build quality to specification. Highly recommended.
Model: Alienware 18
Price: £4,200
Love it or loathe it, the Alienware range is one of the most prestigious gaming series around, and here we’re looking at the Ferrari of its laptop line. It’s a true beast, with an overclocked Intel i7-4930MX 4.3GHz CPU (claimed by Alienware to be the fastest mobile CPU you’ll find anywhere), and two 4GB Nvidia Geforce GTX780M GPUs in SLI. On top of that impressive base, there sits 16GB RAM and a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD with a 750GB 7200RPM HDD. The display is an impressive 18.4” WLED full HD screen, and the whole thing comes in a futuristic chassis.
Although some of the components individually may not match the performance of some of our other examples, the build of the Alienware 18 makes up for it and the performance really does hit the mark. There’s little chance that this is capable of silencing the Alienware haters out there, but for those who want a high power laptop without fuss, or who want a uniquelooking system, this is a great option.
Model: Lenovo IdeaPad Y500
Price: £650
We’ll finish with our cheapest model, and one that’s perfect for entry-level laptop gamers. This is the Lenovo IdeaPad. It’s a sub-£700 unit that comes with a an Intel Core i7-720HQ 2.6GHz CPU, 16GB Ram and an Nvidia Geforce GT650 2GB. Storage is decent, with a 1TB HDD, and a perfectly decent 15.6” full HD display to show it all of with.
A particularly interesting feature of the Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 is the modular upgrade bay. This so-called ‘Ultrabay’ can be used with a selection of optional upgrades depending on your needs; these can be things such as an optical drive, a second hard disk or even a second GPU if you want to boost the Y500s gaming potential even more. Whatever you go for, it’s a feature that can be used to turn an otherwise modest system into a much more powerful model, and it’s a great idea – especially in a system with this relatively low price.