Best Gaming Laptop 2022: Top 7 notebooks for gamers

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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