If you want to stay up to date with the latest technology and game releases, it’s recommended that you replace your laptop around once every four years, although with a little TLC they can last up to ten. If it’s time for you to get a replacement, which gaming laptops are the right option for you?
Let’s take a look at the factors you need to consider when looking for a new gaming machine.
Considerations to make
Before you rush out and buy your new laptop, you should take a moment to really think about what you need it for. There are dozens of brands and models on the market, each designed with a different purpose in mind.
Depending on the games you want to play, you might not need the latest hardware or the most expensive brand.
- Do you need a laptop? Sales of PCs and laptops have been falling for a year now, reaching record lows in the third quarter of 2022. One of the reasons for this is that more of the world accesses the internet by mobile. The same applies to gaming. With thousands of games available on mobile, you might not even need a gaming laptop, to begin with.
- Budget. Most decisions are determined, at least in part, by budget. If you’re on a strict budget, you might struggle to find a gaming laptop that meets the spec needed to play top titles. Although laptops can be bought brand new for a few hundred dollars and will perform basic tasks just fine, higher-end machines are needed for AAA gaming – and they cost well over a thousand dollars.
- What do you need it for? We’ve established that you’re looking for a gaming laptop, but will you use your machine for other tasks as well? With a range of options available, think about whether you’ll be using your laptop for work, streaming, or intensive tasks like video editing. If you’re only playing games, then a laptop designed and built specifically for gaming will be fine-tuned for the job; otherwise, you’ll need an all-rounder.
- Specific requirements. Gaming laptops all require powerful performance and enhanced graphics cards to keep up with demanding frame rates. But you may also have additional requirements depending on how you use your laptop. For example, if you’re going to be gaming on the move a lot, you’ll want a portable laptop with a decent battery life. If you’re only playing from home, you can opt for a machine with a bigger screen size for maximum viewing pleasure.
Option 1: Gaming tablet
Believe it or not, you don’t actually need a high-end machine for most types of gaming; you’ll get by perfectly fine with a cheap laptop or even a tablet. Chromebooks are a solid choice. They run on Chrome OS and utilize Android apps.
However, when it comes to gaming, you’ll have to stick to the basics with a laptop of this spec. Simple options like Stardew Valley will run fine as the full game is only 500MB and requires minimal processing power. Minecraft also happens to be a very low-spec game that requires only 2GB of memory. Unless you start to do some crazy stuff in the game.
Online slots run smoothly on nearly any laptop, and there are hundreds of titles available on platforms like PokerStars via browser or downloadable app. The variety of slot games available today is incredible, from original concepts to revamps of classics like Monopoly and Snakes and Ladders.
You’ll have loads of options when it comes to what you can play on a low-spec tablet. However, you won’t be able to run top-of-the-range AAA titles smoothly. For that, you’ll need to get a more capable machine. You could opt for an iPad Pro, a more upmarket option, but make sure it’s one that will definitely give you the framerate required to run premium titles.
Option 2: Midrange Gaming Laptops
Mid-range laptops like the HP Victus 15 are really the quality you should be looking at if you’re a real gaming fanatic. At this mid-range, machines will have greater processing power and upgraded features, as well as a sturdier, higher-quality build. They will be capable of running many games, such as the most popular titles on platforms like Steam, as well as AAA titles. There are plenty of other options available such as ASUS TUF Gaming, MSI GF series and Acer Nitro series.
Fortnite, for example, has recommended system requirements of 8GB of RAM, Nvidia GTX 960 video card (or equivalent), and Core i5 3.5Ghz processor (or equivalent). Mid-range gaming laptops such as the surpass these specs by a long way and will easily run the game.
It’s not just about the spec either. Choosing a mid-range laptop will score you a machine that is well-balanced in terms of pricing, high-definition displays, longer battery life, and neat aesthetic features.
Option 3: High-End Gaming Laptops
Once you get to the higher-end laptops, you’ll obviously be spending a lot more, but any machine at this level will be able to run higher-end games and AAA titles with ease. You’ll even be able to stream your gaming session during play with no frame rate or lag issues. All whilst enjoying top-quality high-definition sound and visuals.
The Lenovo Legion 5 is one of the best options to go for without breaking the bank. It has a beautiful display and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics cards and is optimized for the best gaming experience.
The Razer Blade 15, meanwhile, is regarded as one of the very best gaming laptops of 2022. You get a Core i9 12900H processor, 32GB of RAM, up to 1TB of SDD storage, and Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU.
Other than that, ROG Strix/Zephyrus series, MSI GE series and Predator Helios/Triton series also offer plenty of high-end gaming laptops that fit different user preferences.
Those specs are much more than you’d ever need for a game of online slots, much more than what is recommended for a game of Fortnite, and greater than what would be required for any modern release, such as an FPS like Call of Duty or the stunning Horizon: Zero Dawn. You can play any game on the aforementioned laptops and will be able to for years to come – making it one of the top options for a gaming laptop in 2022.
