Best Gaming Laptop 2022: Top 7 notebooks for gamers

Introduction
Finding the best gaming laptop for your needs is no easy task. They come in an absurd number of different designs these days, from ultra-portable laptops to monster machines that are so heavy they may as well be a desktop PC.
That’s why we’ve decided to create this best gaming laptop round-up. Our team of experts have reviewed countless laptops from a variety of manufacturers over the past few years, including Alienware, Asus, Razer, MSI and more. And so we’ve cherry picked the best-in-class options and ranked them below.
We know that one gaming laptop won’t meet every single person’s requirements, so we’ve made sure to include a variety of different options and cater to as many budgets as possible.
We’ve developed a thorough and consistent testing process to use with every single gaming laptop. We’ll spend at least a week with each device to get a feel for the design and features, while also using a mixture of both synthetic and in-game benchmarks to see how the performance stacks up against rival systems. Right now, we’re using Horizon Zero Dawn, Dirt Rally and Borderlands 3 as our go-to gaming tests, although we’ll frequently update the testing software to keep up with the times.
Of course, it’s not all about the performance. We also use colorimeters to test the laptops’ screens. If a display has poor contrast or a sub-par colour coverage, we’ll know about it. And let’s not forget battery life, as we have our own test for that too, using PCMark as well as our own observations. This is important as we know some buyers will want a machine they can use for lightweight gaming on the go, or in lectures as well as their bedroom.
And if you can’t see a gaming laptop you fancy right now, it may be worth bookmarking the page and returning later, as we’ll be updating this list frequently to make sure it has all of the latest and greatest options.
Or if you can’t stomach the price of a gaming laptop and would like to go with something more affordable, check out our Best Laptop and Best Student Laptop lists instead. We’ve even got a Best Games Console list if you want a more affordable way to play games on the go.
How we test
Every gaming laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real world checks, such as how well it runs when running a AAA game.
We also make sure to use every gaming laptop we review as our primary gaming laptop for at least a week to ensure our review is as accurate as possible.
- Incredible gaming speed
- Powerful AMD processor
- Superb screen quality
- Second display is potentially useful
- Expensive
- Keyboard and trackpad are cramped
- GPU can’t always handle 4K gaming
- Underwhelming battery life
- Excellent CPU and GPU performance
- Very portable design for a gaming laptop
- Quad HD screen option now available
- Great battery life compared to rivals
- No webcam
- Mediocre Quad HD performance
- Lack of RGB keyboard lighting
- Excellent gaming performance
- Mechanical keyboard feelsfantastic
- Big and beautiful 17-inch screen
- Too large and heavy to be a true portable
- Webcam is located under the screen
- Software isn’t as customisable as Razer Synapse
- Slim, smart and robust 14in design
- Powerful RTX 3070 graphics core
- Superb AMD processor
- High-quality 1440p display
- Exterior sometimes gets hot
- Expensive considering the components
- No numberpad
- Superb, versatile design of laptop and dock
- RTX 3080 delivers great gaming speed
- GTX 1650 is a solid eSports chip
- High-quality display
- Laptop and dock design won’t suit everyone
- Laptop is sometimes too hot
- Middling battery life
- Minimal laptop connectivity
- Sensational gaming and CPU speeds
- Top-quality 360Hz screen
- Crisp, satisfying keyboard
- Good connectivity
- Expensive
- Poor battery life
- Underwhelming overclocking
- Marvellously powerful
- Sleek and suave looks
- Immense port selection
- Superb battery life for gaming laptop
- FHD display is a little lacklustre
- Heavy design
- A little noisy

Razer Blade 14 (2021)
Best overall gaming laptop
Pros
- Slim, smart and robust 14in design
- Powerful RTX 3070 graphics core
- Superb AMD processor
- High-quality 1440p display
Cons
- Exterior sometimes gets hot
- Expensive considering the components
- No numberpad
The Razer Blade 14 is the best overall gaming laptop that we’ve reviewed. It strikes the perfect balance between performance and portability, with the 14-inch screen small enough for us to squeeze inside a rucksack and the 1.78kg heft light enough to take to work without causing us any back pains. We were also seriously impressed with the metal build, which feels classier than the vast majority of other gaming laptops we’ve reviewed.
The Razer also excelled in our benchmark tests, with the Ryzen chip excelling at both gaming and content creation workloads, while the Nvidia GPU is powerful enough to play games in both Full HD and Quad HD resolutions.
There aren’t any obvious flaws with the Razer Blade 14, as we found it to perform admirably in every department. The main sticking point is the price, as it’s very expensive. After testing the laptop, we reckon it’s worth the heavy investment, but you can find other superb gaming laptops that are more affordable, including the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. The only real sacrifices between the two relate to build quality, with the Razer feeling significantly more robust.
And even if you want to stick with Razer, you’ve also got the options of the Razer Blade 15 and Razer Blade 17 laptops, with additional screen space and a higher performance ceiling. They’re both fantastic alternatives, but the Razer Blade 14 still remains our favourite choice since our tests found it to be easier to carry on the commute to work.
Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full Review: Razer Blade 14 (2021) review

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021)
Best value gaming laptop
Pros
- Excellent CPU and GPU performance
- Very portable design for a gaming laptop
- Quad HD screen option now available
- Great battery life compared to rivals
Cons
- No webcam
- Mediocre Quad HD performance
- Lack of RGB keyboard lighting
Very little separated the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 and the Razer Blade 14 in our tests, but the latter just about edged it since it has more powerful components, while featuring a webcam and RGB lighting.
Nevertheless, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is still a fantastic gaming laptop, especially since it’s available at a more affordable price. Our benchmark tests showed it to excel at Full HD gaming, and is even capable of pushing the resolution up to Quad HD if you’re happy to settle for ‘Medium’ graphics quality for the most demanding games.
It has a starting weight of just 1.6kg, making it even more portable than the Razer Blade 14. We found this to be very beneficial when transporting the laptop around in a rucksack, which is an important consideration since our tests show this to be a great productivity machine for when you’re not gaming – the keyboard feels great to type on and our uniform battery tests saw it last 6 hours and 30 minutes when given office workloads.
So while you can find more luxurious gaming laptops by spending more, we still think this is the best gaming laptop in terms of pound-for-pound value – just remember to buy an external webcam for Zoom meetings.
Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full Review: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021) review

Gigabyte AORUS 17G (2021)
Best keyboard on a gaming laptop
Pros
- Excellent gaming performance
- Mechanical keyboard feelsfantastic
- Big and beautiful 17-inch screen
Cons
- Too large and heavy to be a true portable
- Webcam is located under the screen
- Software isn’t as customisable as Razer Synapse
Many modern gaming laptops feature membrane keyboards, but we find these to have shallow keystrokes and poor tactile feedback. Our testing shows that’s fine for typing out essays, but it pales in comparison to the experience we’ve had with some of the best gaming keyboards with mechanical switches.
Fortunately, there are a select few gaming laptops that feature mechanical keyboards, including the Gigabyte AORUS 17G. We were really impressed with the keyboard during testing, as we found the crunchy tactile feel to be incredibly helpful for letting the user know when a key has hit its actuation point.
The Gigabyte AORUS 17G is no one-trick pony either, as it posted impressive performance results in our benchmark test. The screen also excelled in our review process, with our colorimeter showing it to have above-average brightness and great colour accuracy. There’s also plenty of screen space thanks to the 17-inch panel, while we found the high 300Hz refresh rate to be great for multiplayer shooters where fast reactions are essential.
There are a few other superb gaming laptops with mechanical keyboards, including the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 (2021), so it’s worth looking around if that’s your priority. But after reviewing a number of gaming laptops, we’ve found that mechanical keyboards are generally only found on large and heavy laptops, and so aren’t very portable – so make sure you factor that into your final decision.
Reviewer: Ryan Jones
Full Review: Gigabyte AORUS 17G (2021) review

Alienware x17 R2 (2022)
Best high-performance gaming laptop
Pros
- Sensational gaming and CPU speeds
- Top-quality 360Hz screen
- Crisp, satisfying keyboard
- Good connectivity
Cons
- Expensive
- Poor battery life
- Underwhelming overclocking
The Alienware x17 R2 (2022) is a fantastic gaming laptop for several reasons. It has a huge 17-inch screen with speedy 360Hz refresh rate, and packs some of the most powerful laptop specs currently available with the option of a Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU paired with an Intel 12th Generation (Alder Lake) CPU.
During testing, we found this behemoth a laptop to be capable of playing Horizon Zero Dawn at 120fps in Full HD at max graphics settings, and a jaw-dropping 226fps average in Rainbow Six Siege. That leaves sitting the Alienware x17 R2 right near the top in our benchmark scores, second to only the Razer Blade 17 (2022) – the Razer is another superb option, but costs considerably more.
We also loved the Alienware’s fast and crip keyboard, and the design is one of snazziest we’ve seen from a gaming laptop in recent years.
The Alienware x17 R2 is admittedly very expensive, while the weight and battery life limits the laptop’s portability, but this is nevertheless our absolute favourite high-performance laptop right now.
Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full Review: Alienware x17 R2 (2022) review

Lenovo Legion 5 (Advantage Edition)
Best 1080p gaming laptop
Pros
- Marvellously powerful
- Sleek and suave looks
- Immense port selection
- Superb battery life for gaming laptop
Cons
- FHD display is a little lacklustre
- Heavy design
- A little noisy
Most of the laptops on this list are overkill if you’re happy to settle for a 1080p resolution and play all of your favourite Steam games without a hitch. The Lenovo Legion 5 is our current favourite option for those on a budget, especially if you opt for the all-AMD build that we reviewed.
Our testing showed the Legion laptop to capable of playing Horizon Zero Dawn at 72fps, and Borderland 3 at 65fps with maxed out graphics settings. For the older Dirt Rally, it was even capable of a stunning 117fps performance.
The 15.6-inch 1080p screen can also be configured with a fast 165Hz refresh rate, which should be great for gamers looking for a solid mainstream performance. Our tests also showed it to have an outstanding battery life, with the Lenovo laptop lasting 8 hours and 23 minutes in our standard test, which is twice as long than what most rival gaming laptops manage.
However, we found this laptop to a little unwieldy at 2.4kg and we did find the screen quality to be a little lacklustre, so it’s worth considering the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 instead if you have a little more wiggle room in your budget. Otherwise, the Lenovo Legion 5 is still an excellent choice if you’re just looking for simple 1080p gaming laptop with an affordable price.
Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full Review: Lenovo Legion 5 (Advantage Edition)

Asus ROG Flow X13
Best ultra-portable gaming laptop
Pros
- Superb, versatile design of laptop and dock
- RTX 3080 delivers great gaming speed
- GTX 1650 is a solid eSports chip
- High-quality display
Cons
- Laptop and dock design won’t suit everyone
- Laptop is sometimes too hot
- Middling battery life
- Minimal laptop connectivity
One of the biggest issues we’ve found when reviewing the majority of gaming laptops is that they’re substantially larger and heavier than your average notebook. That isn’t the case with the Asus ROG Flow X13, which impressed us during testing thanks to its ultra-portable design, weighing a dainty 1.3kg.
Asus has been forced to make compromises to the power of the laptop to achieve such a portable design, although our benchmarks results showed it can still achieve 30fps and beyond for modern games at a 1080p resolution.
Fortunately, Asus also provides the option of an external RTX 3080, which plugs into both the laptop and a power source simultaneously to provide the GPU with a major performance boost. Our benchmark results saw the gaming performance climb above 90fps for the likes of Horizon Zero Dawn and Borderlands 3, which is remarkable. However, the ROG XG Mobile is extremely expensive and so won’t be worthwhile for everyone.
Still, we really enjoyed using the Asus ROG Flow X13 (2021) without the external GPU, with the ultra-portable design allowing us to use it for both productivity and gaming workloads. Just be mindful that our benchmark results prove you can find more powerful portables elsewhere. It’s also worth considering the Asus ROG Flow Z13, which also supports the external GPU, but has a 2-in-1 form factor so you can use it like a tablet.
Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full review: Asus ROG Flow X13 review

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE
Best dual-screen gaming laptop
Pros
- Incredible gaming speed
- Powerful AMD processor
- Superb screen quality
- Second display is potentially useful
Cons
- Expensive
- Keyboard and trackpad are cramped
- GPU can’t always handle 4K gaming
- Underwhelming battery life
The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE stands out as a unique laptop on this list, as it has not just one, but two screens. We found the second screen to be useful for multitasking, whether that’s using Discord, Spotify or Skype while you game. It’s particularly useful for Twitch streamers, as we were able to make sure the broadcast remained in tip-top shape while also focusing on gunning down enemies.
There are compromises to having two screens, as Asus has pushed the keyboard down to the bottom of the deck, while also cramming the trackpad into the bottom-right corner. We found this results in an awkward typing experience that cramps your fingers after writing up long essays, but such a compromise may well be worth it if you’ll get a lot of use out of a second screen.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE also scored fantastic results in benchmark tests, seeing over 90fps for modern games in 1080p and also being able to handle 4K resolutions. We also found the AMD processor to excel at content creation, once again reinforcing the idea that this is one of the best gaming laptop options for video game streamers.
With an eye-watering price, you’ll really have to make the most out of the dual-screen design to make the most out of the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE. But if you fancy the idea of scrolling through social media while playing the likes of Elden Ring, then this is the laptop for you.
Reviewer: Mike Jennings
Full Review: Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE (GX551) review
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FAQs
A gaming laptop is a portable computer that has been purposefully designed for gaming workloads. This means it should feature a discrete graphics card from either AMD or Nvidia, enabling it to run AAA games with a smooth performance. Gaming laptops are also likely to have RGB lighting on the keyboard, and more overt design choices than conventional notebooks.
A high refresh rate will ensure your display can keep up with the number of frames generated per second by the GPU. It’s generally recommended to opt for at least a 144Hz refresh rate on a gaming laptop. You’ll probably only need a faster display if you’re sticking to a Full HD resolution and want to play competitive online games such as Apex Legends and Fortnite, which aren’t very taxing on your laptop’s graphics card.
Ray tracing is an advanced graphics technology that can render realistic lighting and shadow effects. Nvidia’s RTX GPUs are currently required for ray tracing in a gaming laptop, but AMD is expected to launch its own mobile GPU rivals.
DLSS is a smart feature from Nvidia that can boost the frame rate performance of a game. This is done by rendering a game at a lower resolution, but using upscaling technology so there isn’t a noticeable negative impact to the image quality. AMD is currently working on its own solution to DLSS, but only Nvidia RTX GPUs currently support the technology.